"Songs of Extinction" by Troy's Work Table.
Sidewalk chalk wash, sidewalk chalk, chalk pastels, and charcoal pencil on 12" x 12" concrete board.
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"dodo bleating reedily to English-bred hounds," and "The last Victrola cranked to play in earnest. / The bright green town of my youth." —from "Songs of Extinction" by William Kupinse, as found in Fallow
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The songs of extinction in this poem parallel the history of humanity. They move from the death throes of a mastodon to the current day. They move from the universal and humanity to the personal and individual.
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The first five-line strophe is of animals of the past. The second four-line strophe is of animals on the verge of extinction. The third three-line strophe is of losses of human culture. The fourth (and final) two-line strophe is of a personal moment soon to be lost.
The movement on the page—full, longer lines to fewer, shorter lines—is an extinction itself.
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Once again, I am struck by beauty in the midst of loss. This is an elegy that truly sings.
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