End Times

Before the primate known as “man” became loquacious, With all his fishnet shenanigans, skylarking monkey shines, And thermo-nuclear weapons, There was a time when words among men Had not yet become discrete utterances Encoded with agreed upon meanings. It was a time when disputes were rarely settled Through diplomatic concordance. During that long stretch of pre-history, Our ancestors’ best efforts at verbal communication Consisted of assorted grunts, howls, squeals, screams, cries, And presumably laughter. Conflict negotiation in Paleolithic times Might have involved all these primitive sound bites, But would most likely conclude with blood being spilled. The development of verbal language among humans Would require the evolution, over many generations, of various specific anatomical adaptations. The mechanisms that enable us to fill our lungs with air And expel it in a gymnastic manner up our throats, Around our tongues, through our teeth, and past our lips, Allow us to produce all the recognizable vocalizations That comprise all the languages of the world With all their vocabularies and grammars. For most of pre-history the genus Homo Merely grunted, howled, squealed, screamed, cried, And occasionally, it might be hoped, laughed. The development of verbal language among humans Would lead to the invention of promises, oaths, and vows, But also lies, deception, and inhuman oppression. In the end, we are all just talking monkeys. Talking monkeys that still grunt, howl, squeal, scream, cry, And sometimes laugh, whether it’s appropriate or not. Talking monkeys armed with thermo nuclear weapons. Human history may be heading to an inevitable conclusion; Talking monkeys will never be anything other than talking monkeys.