Mammoth Task
Forty thousand years
of permafrost bed
till this beauty raised
by drill’s kiss bores holes
in her leg. Syringes draw
blood from thawing veins to cheers
stomach contents sifted
by latex fingered greed tusk
sliced scanned for reproductive history.
Vultures make clone plans
Blend genome cocktails with elephants
hybrids to replenish Tundra clean up our mess
eight calves born teeth worn drowned
eaten again by predators
even extinction is no longer safe.
RACHAEL CLYNE – psychotherapist and writer, from Glastonbury. Rachael won the 2013 Indigo Dreams’ Geoff Stevens Memorial prize with her collection Singing at the Bone Tree. The poems concern our longing for the wild self and the journey of frustration and loss we encounter to reclaim it. Publications include: a collection:She Who Walks with Stones and Sings (PSAvalon); anthologies: The Listening Walk, Wells Fountain Poets, Love and Loss; magazines: ImPress, Poetry Space. She also has a self-help book Breaking the Spell – Keys to recovering Self-esteem (PSAvalon) www.rachaelclyne.com http://www.indigodreamsbookshop.com/#/rachael-clyne/4584569249 Her poems Asylum and The Price are dedicated to the All African Women’s Group, a self-help group for women asylum seekers.
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