For at that very instant she fell unconscious to the ground
As the strain of the experience was too great for her.
Then the Goddess diverted her attention to Odu
Who cringed in animal fear at her feet;
This creature forlorn – neither man nor beast—
Greatly moved the compassionate Goddess to pity.
But as she extended her hand to this man-made soulless thing
He uttered a hoarse scream of undiluted terror,
And shrank back gibbering like a hypnotised ape
Which in features he so closely resembled.
‘Odu!’ spoke the Goddess sharply,
‘Look up and listen to me – I command!’
And Odu raised his revolting apology for a face,
Groping sightlessly with deepest bloodshot eyes.
‘Do you see this female here Odu – do you see her?’
‘Yes . . . Odu sees . . . Female of hateful masters.’
‘I give her to you – take good care of her;
With her you shall once again populate the world.’
Odu’s animal mind could not grasp all this,
But he humbly indicated agreement, faithful slave that he was;
For once in his artificial life he tried to think for himself,
But became much more confused than he ever was before.
His bulky body was quaking with pure terror
And he felt the urge to escape as fast and as far
As his massive legs could carry him.
He knew he had killed Za-Ha-Rrellel,
The Big One of the hated masters,
And very many other Amarire,
But he was only completely puzzled
At not being punished for all he did.
On the contrary, now he is lovingly asked
To take good care of the last survivor!
The Goddess suddenly conjured a massive net
Into which she bundled both terrified creatures;
On regaining their senses they were clinging to each other
As they plunged through the waves on a robot fish.
The giant city capsized and sank behind them,
But onward dashed the artificial fish
Through restless waves – ploughing a foaming path
To safety beyond the horizon.
The sea was still filthy, having just devoured
Whole continents and millions of beasts and men;
Cruel and restless, and still scalding hot
While above, the clouds continued to grumble—
Vomiting forth bolt after bolt of thunderous lightning.
Amarava cried out aloud as the realisation struck her
That well and truly she was the last living human being;
For three whole days she cried without ceasing
While forward they sped through seas, now slowly calming.
Night fell and the moon smiled weakly
Upon a destructed earth;
Dancing waves turned to liquid silver
And still the great fish went on—
Eastward and eastward, without a pause.
The sun rose in all its torrid splendour—
The Song of Day whispered a wordless melody
Over guilty waters and naked mountains—
Swept clean of animal and human life.
Now and again Amarava saw
Rocks rearing above the foaming waters—
All that were left of a continent she knew,
Now drowned beneath the passionless seas.
Amarava lost, count of the number of days
That floated by like migrating birds
And was conscious only of a weakness she felt
In both her body and soul.
She felt like a plant which had lost its roots—
Like driftwood on the waters of time;
Naked and helpless in a mad Universe—
She wept till she could weep no more.
Loud within the vaults of her mind
Was the thought that the world she had known
And loved, for she knew no better,
Was dead forever – and Future loomed as an ugly ghost.
The poem of Amarire had been chanted
Through to its very last verse
And now the drums of Fate are sounding
The beginning of yet another poem.
The parent plant had withered and died
But from its mould it cast forth a seed,
Soon to arise as a fresh new plant,
For such is the law of Nature.
BETWEEN GOROGO AND ODU
The mighty fish had nosed up
The mouth of a mighty river,
Which future generations
