Before, they arrived, searching
their way from the sea
for a resting place.

Once, before man appeared,
seals mated without fear,
to give birth undisturbed.

On Mauritius, the dodo is long extinct.

Snow and ice stretches,
Horizon to horizon
In all directions

Whiteness: but tainted,
stippled in scattered places,
Speckled with crimson.

Flecks of pink crystals
Where snow is stained by blood
Dripping from clubbed skulls

On Mauritius,
The dodo is still extinct.

Who is next in line?

	      April, 1977