Smiles

A photo of the excavation at Catal Huyuk;
two skeletons
lying facing each other in their graves
their skinless skulls

eternally smiling at each other.
Their grooved, ancient ribs swelling
out of the yellow earth.
This was their world;

bulls and fat goddesses,
shiny obsidian, smooth mud bricks,
a volcano protecting them,
a dome of blue sky.

It's so cold in this library
blue and grey with live, unsmiling people.
These two, lying in their distant sun,
look like they'll never be cold.

^

Biography

Clare Lanigan is a 20-year old writer, currently studying classics and archaeology at National University of Ireland Galway.