Poetry – The Story of Our Brother – a poem to the demise of the last Chimpanzee.

chimp ptg00402816Chimp Female-chimpanzee-with-infants

The Story of Our Brother

One last breath

And then it’s done –

Into history.

One pull of the finger

And that’s

The end of the story.

The chimpanzee

Was just like me

But now

The blood will dry

And there’s no family

To cry.

The fossils will remain

For a while

And then it’s one more

Crime to file

And no one cares

How our brother

Fares.

When he’s gone

It’s done.

End of story.

Opher 4.7.2015

 

I was inspired to write a little series of poems. They came out of my Anthropocene Apocalypse writings and my conversations with my friends Kathy and Toby.

I have witnessed the whole-sale destruction of the world’s rainforests where-ever I have travelled – Peru, Vietnam, Australia, Tasmania, Africa. The story is the same.

I have witnessed the casual cruelty meted out to animals and the brutal way wild animals are slaughtered.

It distresses me.

As our numbers spiral the destruction increases and the slaughter escalates. The world is finite.

In my own life-time I may see the demises of tigers, elephants, rhinos, chimps, gorillas, lemurs and hundreds of thousands of others. There may well be no rainforest left.

I find that devastating. And believe me – it is real.

Vietnam – 70% of rainforest cleared in 40 years. Madagascar – just 10% left. It is relentless and stupid.

The last chimp will likely be shot by a hunter just like the dodo was. We share 99% of our genes but he will be meat on a plate. It is a terrible crime.

3 thoughts on “Poetry – The Story of Our Brother – a poem to the demise of the last Chimpanzee.

    1. Cheers – Opher – The message about the plight of our cousins needs spreading far and wide!! Thanks for helping!

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