Temple of the Animals

I travelled deep into the wooded mind of remembered things, into the jungled heart of forgotten faiths. And there in buried strata of memories, I stumbled into a grand temple, alive and watching, weighing me.
For there, rank upon rank of creatures dwelt and looked upon me from ancient eyes. Eyes informed from the cascading forms flowing from the depths of time. Before my kind could walk the earth, those eyes were old. Emerging, mating, dying, in the torrent of their rising and falling flesh. Yet in the very midst of the torrential change, the timeless patterns gleamed. Shone in their life lustered eyes as I stood before them. Then wordless the questions came. And in silence they asked me…
When you have hunted and gathered from field or flesh, do you share what you have with your mate?
When young spring out of the womb, can you give of your body to them, and rise above conflict to protect them?
When you meet one of your kind, can you treat them with respect according to their place in the pack?
There was no need for me to answer for they read my heart. No perfect record there, but I had laboured long to feed my cubs. My mate had eaten as I had eaten. The wounds upon my body to survive were worn with pride.
And so that mighty gathering took me then as one to them. My inner beast rose up to take the blessing, all conflict between us gone.
I the animal! I the human!

Copyright ©2003 Tony Crisp