Charcoal Horses
On a cave wall—
Art to inspire
A scene recalled.
No words, no writing,
Not even a scrawl,
But wild horses
Somehow enthrall.
A time with no voice
Within the head,
Bare images
Of things instead:
A horse in the wind,
A cloud on the hill,
Flash through the mind
When nights are still;
And a crude man
With a piece of coal
Sketches a replica
Of his world.
I like this poem. I've also wondered, in my book, if I could travel back in time and spend thousands of years to wait for the moment of words forming in their minds, I would be ecstatic at sharing it. Of course, it is not that simple, since warnings, for instance, started as simple barks - as with the chimps.
However, should anyone tell me I am a romantic for viewing the process with such awe, I would pity them, for it means they do not appreciate the miracle of them being able to express their point of view - and they have little understanding of thinking for themselves, instead of only being able to parrot what they are told.
EDIT
Re the picture, I do not know if it original cave art or just created to resemble it, but if it is original, why is it the horses are given shadows for creating a 3 dimensional appearance, while Egyptians thousands of years late only gave their paintings and carvings 2 dimensions.
Thanks, Arthur - this fascinates me too. I was taught by the famous Northrop Frye at the U of T who remarked to a student one day in class, "if you can't say it, you don't know it." It made me think about language and thinking and the self-talk that goes on inside our heads and when exactly it happened that cave men heard a voice speaking inside them. Fascinating...
The cave ar t is from the Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave in the Ardèche department of southern France and is 30, 000 yrs. old. The 3D effect comes from their having the ability to use the natural contours of the cave wall to make their images stand out and appear life-like.
As for the Egyptians, I believe they inherited an already developed more ancient civilization that were megalithic builders - see Youtube vids by UnchartedX -
Always a pleasure to converse with you, my friend :)