MY NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

 Once I could walk to Darwin’s cathedral,

Which was not my father’s house,

But was nearby.

My aunt aught me to pray

After my mother died,

Which was some solace

Or comfort then.

Yet my wishes, whatever they were,

Remained ungranted.

Ancient words learned by rote,

And misunderstood,

Did not fill any void;

But inside Darwin’s cathedral

I could sometimes walk alone

Along the echoing galleries,

Where the skeletons were displayed.

So, similarities were shown to me

I could see that a fin or

A flipper, a wing or a hand or claw

Were the same beneath skin,

Scales, feathers or fur.

Unlike the words of forgotten prayers,

That has stayed with me

All my life.