Finnish tourist breaks ear off Easter Island statue
—Reuters

I once assigned to hubris
the claim of our dominion
over beast and fowl
We are in charge of life on earth
if only because we’re so good
at putting an end to it

Only a human would cut down
the last tree on the island
Only a human would erect a god
in honor of this ignorance
Only a human would
steal an ear from this god

The other creatures go about
fighting feeling remembering
to make more of themselves
An elephant can smell a
watering hole from 12 miles
and recognize its own reflection
when it gets there
A bird can remember
1000 hiding places for seeds

When worms sleep
and beetles grow mushrooms
when germs hide out in stones
for protection
when spiders camouflage themselves
as flowers to attack bees
we’re in charge
if only because
nature gives up its secrets
only to us

Bio: Jack Cooper