Before men slept in safety,
Before we painted caves,
Before we learned to scrape a pit,
Or dressed our dead in makeshift graves;

Before the time of planting,
Before the birth of art,
Before we made a slave of fire
Beginning— in our minds— to part

From wandering and wilderness,
Before, before all this,
I’ll wager that a lovesick heart
Stole first a look — and then a kiss

And mated with a neighbour,
Which led the tribes to war,
Which led to sharper axe and spear,
Before we knew what war was for,

Before the wheel or necklace,
Before the pots of mud,
Before we learned to stop ourselves—
We budded from each others’ blood.