mammoth

with meat stores low
for omnivorous bellies
we left for the tundra
in search of a proud
and majestic beast
but when we found one
and lanced it to death
its hot mammal blood
melting the ground snow
we had struggled to force
the mammoth’s mortality
our right flank collapsed
from missing its hunter
for back at our village
prior to our departure
he had begged through shivers
i can still throw a spear
i can still take it down
i still need to eat
but we had asked that he simply
tend to the fire
while we were gone
to let it warm him
and to await our return
for sharing
in a generous feast
while the flames stay full and roaring
fueled by dripping fat and grease