Fingerprints

Fingerprints

We, as humans, have each
an identifier--
that which delineates us
from all others.
A dactylogram.

Gorillas, koalas and chimpanzees
have unique fingerprints as well.
There are those whose tongue print
is unique only to them. Cat and dog
whiskers each have a pattern
singularly theirs.
No tiger's stripes match those
of another, as do zebras.
In the 'only one'
category, so too, whales';
tails tell their tale.
Each cheetah has its own story
running through the spots on its fur.
No butterfly wings nor
boa constrictor scales are
exact duplicates.
Angelfish have a halo of markings.
Clownfish: no two in the circus
are the same.
Cut down a tree
and you will see
it's fingerprint:
remarkably similar
to our own
and yet unique.

We are all connected
by the prints we leave on the world
and it is these
which may become our making
or lead to our destruction.