Intimations of Consanguinity
“ Well, if Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon could interbreed, imagine what we can do with stem cells.”
“Do I have any relatives”, he asked,
nestling up close. What he meant, actually,
was Why am I so isolated? And giving himself a scratch
without even the slightest hint of humility, he complains,
“Sometimes we go out, and I come across
two, or even three, who live together,
who are able to do things so well, so conjointly,
that when I try to show closeness to one, another
will assert himself in between, aggressively,
and I have little chance to make friends.
I just stand there, smelling the smells
they exude, vigorously wagging my tail
so as to let everyone know
the good nature of my disposition,
only to be greeted by a snarl, or a snicker,
and at best a sense of being ignored.”
Then he sits up and tilts his head
in that sly manner he has.
He says, “You know, I’m fully aware
about the facts of life, about puppies
and how they come to be. I mean…”
(and here, aware now of his demanding tone, he hesitates)
“I mean, why don’t you reproduce? And I’ll decide
how many of them I’ll keep.