Susan Hawthorne #141 mentifacts

mentifacts are artefacts of the mind
left behind by those who went before

you find them in the oldest poems and songs
recited and chanted to secure
the synapses' snapping connections
creating culture that will the passed
down through countless generations
without change the metre keeping it firm

you find mentifacts in stone circles
carved on to rock walls the hand print
and the animal footprint leading the way
the motion of the stars followed
by word and rock constellations rise and set
along the ecliptic of the mind

you find mentifacts in dance and music
the body's form taking so many shapes
dancing emu on one continent
trumpeting elephant on another
the music trembles through the body
a concatenation of limbs and rhythm