A Pretty Good Scene

I saw this show
on
apes.

See what they do is:
they set out in packs
and they march single-file
into the jungle,
sniffing the earth, their balls enlarged,
like dwarf monks
climbing to the waterfall.
They go to the edge of their circle.

It doesn’t take too long
till they decide, go ahead,
go beyond the circle, yes,
and the day changes then--

screaming, galloping, beating of tree trunks
ensues
until they find a lone male of the enemy pack,
converge upon him.

They beat, stomp,
tear him apart.
Bite him.
Take turns biting him.
His face is the face of the hunted.

By the time they’re done,
this boy is splayed
dead,
artistically as Christ (this is the part I remember most).

His throat is ripped out,
his genitals, gone

(just a red triangle there)

erected like some
dead star
sucked out on the forest ground.

They do not eat him this time, though that isn’t rare.
Sometimes they do that. Yes,
sometimes they eat him.