When Arboreal Man awoke
by Dawn's First Light
as if by alarum sound
he did not need
the crow of cock
or any other ambient bird
to summon him to ground
When Post-Arboreal Man
first stumbled into some idea
Enlightenment for instance
he first was often unnerved
but picked himself up
and hurried off
as if nothing had happened
Churchill famously observed
As Post-Industrial Man
got used to
Flashes of Brilliance
he kept calm instead
and scientifically
tethered his advance
to the Mountain of Knowledge
with a light bulb over his head
now
Post-Informational Man
lives in Constant Light
which is not necessarily
beneficial
the Value of Doubt
the Worth of Unknown
have been rendered
ex-official
When Arboreal Man
still slept in trees
he wound up sleep-deprived
when he fell asleep
he would startle awake
or he would be short-lived
This reflex convulsion—
the eyes break wide
the hands reach out—
kept him aloft
& safe from Falls
...no doubt
In Aikido
we were taught
this reflex was
the foundation of self-defense:
parry-> off-balance-> attack
one can see
how this would lead
to a certain philosophical sense
David Matthews is an American Ex-Pat living and working in Prague, Czech Republic. His poems have appeared previously in DitchPoetry, Magaera, Big Bridge, the Journal of Mundane Behavior, and previous incarnations of Unlikely Stories.
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