The aurochs spins in firelight suspended
On the tent. Appears to run, remarkable
Shadows, foolery already
Leaping. Carved from bone: a map,
A tool for scraping snow, river, a blizzard,
A fish. What is a wonder of nature? A leaf,
A weapon, a lion-man 40,000 years ago
Carved from the bone of a mammoth. Still the arrival
And departure of birds. Two reindeer
(16,000 years, 20,000) swimming or a male
Nosing under a female’s tail, like me riveted
In time. The wooly rhino is an extinct species. Still
Dressed for cold though outside
Trees are in bud, gauzed with green. Already, see,
Makers swoon, in thrall to themselves
Making. When they stand up on their back legs
Bears resemble humans. This man’s head
Turns like a doll’s. This one was in pain, riven
By time. River pebbles minimally altered to accentuate
Their female features. Mouth open, is she
Calling or screaming? Are these real women
Or imaginary beings? Their brains, the gloss tells us,
Were like ours. An argument made
Or had. Is the brain the mind? I
Forget. In wild speculation, I always say
It slipped my mind. I mean, reality.
The British Museum, Art of the Ice Age, April 2013. Italicized lines from the exhibit commentary.