Oumma Aularesso
Oumma Aularesso
(Animal Laugh)
The one who thought
Instead of looking for food
Spent all his time worrying
About killing and freezing
Instead of sunning himself The one who built
On a warm rock Instead of fitting in
Running out The holes
His blood Nature had made for him
On his friend's rock To spend the night
And the animals laughed In a reed hut
Because they had no such worries Not a solid cave
In their heads In the earth he should be
And plenty of food Not the hands of man
It was stored away for winter And the animals laughed
Because they had thickets
And holes
And down
It was stored away for winter
The one who fought
Instead of fitting in
The holes
His own society had made for him
To live his life The one who fought
In fear Out of fear
Of the world around him Into fear
In fear And futility
Of the world inside him To live his life
And the animals laughed In his perfect world
Because they knew what to fear Without perfection
From him Producing flaws
His own creation And no joy
It was stored away for winter And the animals laughed
Because they could
And he could not
Find peace
It was stored away for winter
The one who built
A world
He could not even understand
Himself
To save his life The one who thought
He had endangered He was the master
Himself Of nothing
Everything around him Save the world
Was danger Inside his head
And the animals laughed In his world
Because they saw the danger He was not confined
To him To his world
He was hiding out in it But to the inside of his head
It was stored away for winter And the animals laughed
Because they saw the outside
Waiting for him
Their future could wait
It was stored away for winter
- Stephen Foskett, '93