man is always poking at things
turning them over
inspecting them
seeing if they can be eaten
seeing if they can be beaten
curious.
But the jay has no flame.
So the jay game goes on
only as before.
Nothing more.
But man found a flame
and spiced up his game.
Poking and picking was fun
squeezing and twisting
but the fire made everything even better.
From his own fire
he sometimes had to run.
That only added to the fun.
He could burn anything.
He could burn the jay.
He could burn other men.
And he did.
Man burned everything with his new toy.
He was blessed with the fire.
Man learned to burn dirt
and the dirt would harden.
He pounded the hardened dirt
into chains
and knives.
He burned other dirt
and it hardened into a magic
through which he could see.
He piled his burned dirt into shapes.
He called the shapes
cars
and bridges
and cities.
He could make anything with his burned dirt.
He could burn many more men with his burned dirt.
He made flying dirt machines
and floating dirt machines
and in a happy wolf pack
burned other men’s dirt machines.
There seemed to be no limit
to the burning that could be done
and the piling of dirt.
Great heaping sprawling piles.
The piles had to be protected.
From other men.
The jays watched all this
trying not to get burned
and were glad
they had ignored the flame.