Extinct

We live in books and photographs.
Our stories all begin with ‘once’.
Three, two, going… going… gone.
Barbary Lion, Atitlan Grebe
Caribbean Monk Seal, Carolina Parakeet.

We tasted good, our forests were yours
Our horn was magic, you wore our furs.
Three, two, going… going… gone.
Javan Tiger, Japanese Sea Lion
Laughing OwlPassenger Pigeon.

We washed fur with a rasping tongue,
swam and slept beneath the sun.
Three, two, going… going… gone.
Western Black Rhinoceros, Aldabra Snail
Pyrenean Ibex, Wake Island Rail

Stripes and colours, feathers and song.
Skin, shell, teeth, bone.
Three, two, going… going… gone.

Copyright: from If You Could See Laughter (Salt, 2010), © Mandy Coe, 2010, used by permission of the author and Salt Publishing

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Mandy’s poems are filled with joy and delight and often explore and mirror the movements you might make as you run and play.  The ...

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About Extinct

Many animals have become extinct in the last 100 years. This poem names just a few of them.

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