The Archaeologist's Lesson From early on I loved to plot And dig, looking for paydirt To explain the earth I saw Later, as my methods grew Sophisticated I delighted in the order of a Formal excavation, The small squares in which I skinned away the surface Inch by inch, Far more delicate a delver Than a truffle hound, Though what I brought to light Proved far less palatable: That every treasure will receive A burial, in time A fact our predecessors then Like us today Would kill themselves To disavow ________________________________________________________________________ Emanuel E. García, Sinking In, One Hundred Poems, 2013 |