The First Successful Neanderthal is Cloned

The differentiation of species does not rely entirely
on the inability to interbreed. Donkeys and horses,
famously able. A species is seemingly differentiated
by the nomenclature itself. Binomial, Latinate.
Etruscan in its death. Unmodern to the modern ear.
And no less confounding. In unrelated news, the
Neanderthal is finger-painting the lab with buffalo.
Its newborn brain only designable from a distance.
The difference between species is in the difference
between species. Bones, then. The genome: a
palimpsest. The helix: pressed like a picture book,
then bones. Bones again. Then sheep. Then dog.

IAN CAPPELLI

Ian Cappelli (he/him) authored the chapbook Suburban Hermeneutics (Cathexis Northwest Press, 2019). His work has been twice nominated for the Pushcart and Best of the Net and has appeared (or is forthcoming) in Sugar House Review, Lunch Ticket, Roanoke Review, and The American Journal of Poetry, among others.