Ode to a Giant Ground Sloth
Or Megatherium, if we’re getting specific,
six meter tall avocado eaters, parading
slowly, ever so slowly, across the plains
of south and Central America, believed
to have wandered as far north as our shores,
ripping fruit from ancient trees, taking
cover in blades of grass the size of surf
boards. Imagine running into one,
lumbering across the valley, swishing
a tail the size of an anaconda, sniffing
the air with a tongue like a pool noodle.
Imagine it pulling you from your horse
with a curious claw, holding you up
to the light, trying to figure out
what you were. Imagine the teams
of sabretooth tigers or dire wolves
that encircled them, snapping at legs
and haunches, taking advantage
of their speeding teeth, toppling
the gentle giants.
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