The Same Animal

We are all the same animal, though some of us are furrier, and some are self-conscious about that, lovely little he and she-apes fixated on the absurdity of well-groomed genitals, as if the wild tangle diminishes the wild tango. Our uniqueness lies in how we embrace and deny that animal nature, those strong instinctive impulses, that psychological state before and beyond words.

Sometimes I embrace my inner animal by licking people and peeing on things. I belong with dogs. After a period of morning readjustment in which I find everything funny, barking laughter, I claim humanity again and deny the previous night's events as the anomalous work of the beast. Still panting, I lie. If not for abundant resources, I would abandon the veneer of manners and speech and rely on my teeth for more than play-bites.

Life's inner flame joins beast and man. When it shines unobstructed, it is beautiful and terrifying, natural and naked, the internal God.