Ode on an Australopithecine

THEN AND NOW (June 18, 2008)

In the era of cavemen, they died so much younger
From deadly diseases and hardships and hunger
But now we’ve got doctors with potions and pills
Disease only kills them who can’t pay their bills

These life-support systems can fuel us for ages
Trapped in our bodies like spirits in cages
Worshipping science and losing our essence
The flesh it remains, where the soul has no presence

Feeding our life force by shopping for shoes
Ice cream and Oprah to stave off the blues
Out-of-work shamans they beg on the corner
The blesséd at heart might just hand one a quarter

The radio spokesman he rambles and preaches
On that which our parents neglected to teach us
Deriving our sense in pursuit of a dollar
Numb to the fact that we’re living in squalor

Clinging to life and the trappings of matter
Determined to see our investments grow fatter
Forgetting the quest of hero in transit
Ignoring the treasure, for who understands it?