local_library I Hope We Leave More Than Just a Fossil Record

by Jovan Shadd

Published in Issue No. 282 ~ November, 2020

By whatever cataclysm
Earth has been reclaimed
I’m sure the many
divisions of man
will distinctly
stratify
the sediment.

And that will be our legacy.

Layers of income &
inheritance
expression &
expectation
etcetera &
etcetera;
Whatever nouns they felt synonymous to Other.

Shook loose beneath the mudrock
samples classed by wealth of bone
teeth
skin
whatever parts of us made us human –

detritus defines
what was Man
and what is left of Him
that his universally gendered species
couldn’t leave in … stuff
more lasting than the plastic obelisks
that preserve
our apparent understanding of art
our last performance of culture:
a celebration of material
material
to being
material
or at least material
worthy of worship –

God of plastic
God of excess
God of miscellania
God of etcetera
preserve us (in our ruin).

account_box More About

Jovan Shadd is a queer poet based in Toronto, Canada. They explore life through poetry and hope to contribute to others exploration of the same.