The Great Aukian Prophecy

A Warning for Humanity

In the silent vigil of the northern cliffs,
Where the sea cradles the echoes of the past,
Stood the great auk, in solitude’s embrace,
A sentinel at the threshold of the world.

Feathered prophet, black and white,
Gazing out at the churning tides,
Your flightless wings harbored ancient tales,
Whispers of the ice, the wind, and the stars.

In your stillness, a reflection of our haste,
Humanity’s sprint, a blur against time’s canvas,
We, too, stand upon precarious perches,
Teetering on the brink of our own abyss.

The great auk, once master of the frosted realms,
Now a shadow, a memory, a warning,
Your extinction, a mirror to our potential fate,
A solemn reminder of the delicate dance of life.

As the world spins, heedless and headlong,
We chase the ephemeral, the transient, the fleeting,
Forgetting the eternal, the enduring, the true,
Blind to the great auk’s silent counsel.

May we pause, may we ponder, may we perceive,
The lessons etched in your vanished form,
That we might change our course, our legacy,
And not merely race toward demise, but soar toward dawn.

(Author’s Note: The great auk was a flightless bird that became extinct in the 19th century. On June 3, 1844 (180 years ago this month), the last two confirmed specimens were killed on Eldey, off the coast of Iceland. Source: Wikipedia).