Heads Up poetry column: Creation

By Philip Appleman

Creation

for the discoverer of the Grotte de Lascaux:

Marcel Ravidat, 1923–1995

On all the living walls

of this dim cave,

soot and ochre, acts of will,

come down to us to say:

This is who we were.

We foraged here in an age of ice,

and, warmed by the fur of wolves,

felt the pride of predators

going for game.

Here we painted the strength of bulls,

the grace of deer, turned life into art,

and left this testimony on our walls.

Explorers of the future, see how,

when our dreams reach forward,

your wonder reaches back, and we embrace.

When we are long since dust,

and false prophets come,

then don’t forget that we were your creators.

So build your days

on what you know is real, and remember

that nothing will keep your lives alive

but art—the black and ochre visions

you draw inside your cave

will honor your lost tribe,

when explorers in some far future

marvel at the paintings on your walls