Amarantha Francoise Dyuaaxchs Seeking Knowledge

COOKED MEAT

A man out walking in ancient times
Saw smoke rising from afar.
A grass fire approaches quickly,
Terrifies the central heart.

He took shelter underneath a stream,
Breathing through a slender reed.
Emerging after the heat had passed,
Animals planted the seed.

Squirrel, chamois, megaceros, elk,
Deer, and many other names,
Crackling, blackened, fur gone away;
Perished all in the hot flames.

The hunter famished discovered this;
Fire is for protection, warmth;
Could it not also kill his food?
He tested the lifeless forms.

The meat so warm, he cut with his blade
Of stone chipped into a shape.
It was fresh and tender and sweet,
A good meal for all its way.

A tribe of twenty adults at home,
And perhaps seven children,
Saw ruined meat upon his back.
Horrified at the new thought.

"The food is burnt," said the great, grand chief.
"Go bring us back some meat."
"But you should try it," said hunter,
"Its wonderful taste is sweet."

A party was gathered to hunt bison,
The horrid meat cast aside.
Hunter would not fuss or scorn.
He was obedient to the chide.

A youngling with mind still flexible
Reached out a chubby, tiny hand.
The unworn teeth fastened on the staple;
Something soft that would soon change the land.

His mother caught him in disobedience,
Started to raise a hardwood branch;
Then stopped and seized the abhorrence;
Was surprised the taste did not make him blanch.

The tribal men returned with but squirrel
And were greeted with a feast.
The women had cooked all the vegetables
And they ate the burned beasts.

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