775,000 BCE, Atapuerca
Deep within a karst infill of the Spanish archaeological site at Atapuerca, the bones of very early hominids were discovered at the turn of the 21st century. They show signs of butchery, akin to those found on animal bones, indicating cannibalism.
All through the long funnel of the valley
we channel the children, delighting
in their legs more plump than deer.
Where have they come from? Not here,
and what more is there to ask? We fall
upon them, we fell them, we drag them
by their meaty legs back up the hill.
//
A chisel made of stone will shear any head
from a spine. A hammer made of bison bone
will splinter open any creature's ribs, reveal
a tender marrow core. A body in any shape
can feed another body. At Gran Dolino
we eat the children. The cave's mouth
breathes us over, hunched and gnawing.
//
We do not beg forgiveness. Of whom?
For what? A valley only has so many deer.
A deer can only feed so many children.
There are so many children here already.
There are only three places in the world
I have ever tasted salt: in blood, the sea,
my cheeks when wood smoke hits my eyes.
About the Creator
Suze Kay
Pastry chef by day, insomniac writer by night.
Find here: stories that creep up on you, poems to stumble over, and the weird words I hold them in.
Or, let me catch you at www.suzekay.com
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