Instinct By Amy Shelver

Swiftly, silently, the merger rises. 
Instinct snaps its jaws shut and there is no escape. 

Man saunters within its corridors 
Stretching… 

A yearning for something, 
So obtuse and desired, 
That one can only lean in, 
Reach out in the hope 
Of grasping a tiny sliver, 
A single slice of that perfectly governed life. 

We have wavered from the path we travel, 
Led by animal ideal… 

Reason and intellect fall, 
An undeniable fundamental surging begins. 

It flows into and encompasses all that surrounds us. 

 

Eating, gorging, and niggling at what we know is true 
…animal… lustful… instinct!

'Swaar dra al aan die een kant iii' photograph by Gerhardt Coetzee next to 'Instinct' poem by Amy Shelver
Artwork: Swaar dra al aan die een kant iii (2018) | Gerhardt Coetzee | Digital photograph | De Aar, Northern Cape | Not for sale 
section_artfeatured

Poetry / words

Discover observations, moments, poetry

section_summary_02

Art

Explore the visual responses

Author

Learn more about the author

Artists

Get familiar with the creatives