darwinism
on the west coast,
our mauritian tour guide
speaks of the dodo birds
driven to extinction
by the promise of more land,
more gold, more resources,
more, always more—
i think about the sharks,
the mountain tigers crammed
against steel lines, wide eyes.
the jaguars, the tusked elephants,
the billion dollar industries, and
the question: will you ruin something
just because you can?
a stream runs by our hotel
from the colonial era.
i am small and featherless,
almost childlike in the pale,
harsh light of your irises.
you are god or an american man
with your overtly aggressive smile,
your rough hands, your raybans.
i think about asking
whether you've ever felt
that urge deep in your bones
to conquer, to dominate,
but I decide against it.
near the stream,
the children fold in half,
hunting for tadpoles.
our mauritian tour guide
speaks of the dodo birds
driven to extinction
by the promise of more land,
more gold, more resources,
more, always more—
i think about the sharks,
the mountain tigers crammed
against steel lines, wide eyes.
the jaguars, the tusked elephants,
the billion dollar industries, and
the question: will you ruin something
just because you can?
a stream runs by our hotel
from the colonial era.
i am small and featherless,
almost childlike in the pale,
harsh light of your irises.
you are god or an american man
with your overtly aggressive smile,
your rough hands, your raybans.
i think about asking
whether you've ever felt
that urge deep in your bones
to conquer, to dominate,
but I decide against it.
near the stream,
the children fold in half,
hunting for tadpoles.
September 2025
Rongfei Mu is a Chinese poet and student residing in Beijing, China. Her work has either been published or is forthcoming in Palette Poetry and the Jet Fuel Review.
Art: Ellen June Wright, Diptych #1306, #1509, watercolor on paper