Procyon Lotor

By John I. Blair

Compared to hairy you
We humans are the new kid
On the block.

We’ve been here
In this continent
50,000 years at best.

You’ve occupied it
Far more than a million
Yet we tend you no respect.

Maybe it’s the mask you wear
And can’t remove. Or the noise
You make while rifling our trash.

Your high-step locomotion
Serves you fine on boggy soil
(But leaves it tough to outdash cars).

You’ll eat anything, truest
Omnivore upon the planet
Some folk claim.

But I admire you nonetheless,
Because you have a brain
Behind that mask,

A brain that asks what things are for
And remembers well
When you find out.

If you had a thumb opposable
You’d give us a merry run
On this Earth we share.

©2016 John I. Blair, 9/2/2016