Neanderthal Dig  is from McKay\u27s chapbook Larix

McKay, Don

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Neanderthal Dig

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The GooseVolume 14No. 2 Tenth Anniversary Issue Article 433-1-2016Neanderthal DigDon McKayPart of the Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Literature in English, North AmericaCommons, Nature and Society Relations Commons, Place and Environment Commons, and thePoetry CommonsFollow this and additional works at / Suivez-nous ainsi que d’autres travaux et œuvres:https://scholars.wlu.ca/thegooseThis article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Goose by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Cet article vous est accessible gratuitement et en libre accès grâce à Scholars Commons @ Laurier. Le texte a été approuvé pour faire partie intégrantede la revue The Goose par un rédacteur autorisé de Scholars Commons @ Laurier. Pour de plus amples informations, contactezscholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended Citation / Citation recommandéeMcKay, Don. "Neanderthal Dig." The Goose, vol. 14 , no. 2 , article 43, 2016,https://scholars.wlu.ca/thegoose/vol14/iss2/43.from Larix by  Don McKay      1McKay: Neanderthal DigPublished by / Publié par Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2016Neanderthal Dig  1.      When we dug up the grave     we found a child’s bones     laid on a great swan’s wing.     They had never been, we thought,     the sharpest flints in the cave,     with thick skulls evolving toward NFL     helmets. We’d applied their name     (from Neander Vale, site     of the first remains we found)     to racists, sexists, and dull     bureaucrats.       Now we stood abashed    trespassers on grief, thoroughly sapiens    with artful implements and wit.    What would it be like to be so stricken,    with few words to call on heaven, hell,     hope, grief? And what    sharp words might we, the clever cousins    muster for the child who one    day watched a Mute Swan  (wingspan:    five feet)  lift from the river in two white    swipes of Paleolithic air?    2The Goose, Vol. 14, No. 2 [2016], Art. 43https://scholars.wlu.ca/thegoose/vol14/iss2/432.       What manner of wreath       might honour this death?       Some wing of language       entering earth?       Wherever you’re gone      may your spirit wander      wild as a swan      in the Vale of Neander.                 3McKay: Neanderthal DigPublished by / Publié par Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 2016DON McKAY has published numerous books of poetry and several books of essays. The poetry has been recognized with a number of awards, including two Governor General’s Awards and the Griffin Poetry Prize. His most recent books of essays, The Shell of the Tortoise, received the BMO Winterset Award for Excellence in Newfoundland and Labrador Writing for 2011. Paradoxides is his most recent publication. His collected poems, Angular Uniformity, appeared in 2014. He lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland. “Neanderthal Dig” is from Lexis, Vallum Chapbook Series No. 18, Montreal, Quebec, 2015.  Photo: LISA SZABO-JONES flight 2016 4The Goose, Vol. 14, No. 2 [2016], Art. 43https://scholars.wlu.ca/thegoose/vol14/iss2/43

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Neanderthal Dig

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