#we're the same people. we see pigments and go “ima draw an eye”

[existencebringsonlypain]

homo sapiens are such interesting creatures

we're hairless apes with brains so big we have to be born prematurely, or else we wouldnt fit

we form communities and make governments, then take down those governments and form new ones

we sing songs to children and make music for reasons we don't understand

we break down at the feel of grasping an ancient axe because it fits our hands exactly

we laugh and we cry and we comfort each other and we care

i like to imagine the early humans. we dont know much about them

we only know them by the effect they had on everything else

which is still true, i suppose

we know tutankhamun by his tomb

ea-nāṣir by his bad reviews

and we know the cavemen by their paintings.

paints made of dirt and spit

iron that we still use today

depicting animals and people and the hands that painted them

theyd take the components and mix em up and dip their hands in and draw

swirling color on the walls

that's all we really know of them as people. they hunted and they gathered and they painted.

and they cared for their brethren and they fought and they prevailed. and they are us

they say humanity as a species hasn't changed, only our wealth of knowledge has

and i agree

because every time i set out to do a serious work of art

at some point in the process

i toss away my brushes

dip my fingers into the pigments

and swirl a likeness all my own

would you guys like to see some mediocre poetry