THE OPPOSED THUMB, and BEFORE THERE WERE HANDS

THE OPPOSED THUMB

Can you make music with your hands?
Ever beat out a rhythm with your hands?
Ever slap hands palm to palm, high five,
swing branch to branch, on the monkey bars,
or dip them in red ocher,
or paint with these hands?
On the wall, an imprint of Lascaux.
Michelangelo's bright hand of God.
This hand of inspiration, a divine spark.
Can you see with your hands?
In the dark with your hands,
can you see, feeling your way
for the light switch in an unfamiliar house?
The tips of your fingers discover vast mountains
and plains as you search for light.
Entire  continents on the plaster walls
of his dark house,
these hands.

5/17/1985
minor revisions

BEFORE THERE WERE HANDS

We shake hands,
no concealed weapons,
a ritual of ocher,
an imprint signature, ritual.
Karate-empty hands,
without weapons, and fingers
to push that one red button.
Before there were hands,
fish walked on the mud,
and birds feathered the air.
Before there were hands
bison scribed the plains with their teeth.
Before there were hands
fire was the only voice of the volcano.
Flowers, and the paint of spring,
meteors falling stars
sudden light
empty light
sudden hand
empty hand
sudden light.

5/17/1985
minor revisions 
added 2/18