it's such a lovely notion.  and yet i have to ask

(any uppity primates

i happen to come across)

why must they go on telling themselves

(in the blessed blink of fleetly passing

narrative declarative years)

that they own these

astonishing spaces

they settle in,

exclusively?

shant they ever wonder whether his feet were cold?

"She asks me to kill the spider.
Instead, I get the most
peaceful weapons I can find.
I take a cup and a napkin.
I catch the spider, put it outside
and allow it to walk away.
If I am ever caught in the wrong place
at the wrong time, just being alive
and not bothering anyone,
I hope I am greeted
with the same kind
of mercy."

― Rudy Francisco, Helium