Of Course, Not All

What would four or five
Of the oldest tales
From the human world
Tell you about us,

The meanings you use
To concoct your tales,
The ghosts in your plots?
Beauty and the Beast

Or demon lover,
Bear hunt in the sky,
The seven sisters,
Smith and the devil—

Tales like those, so old,
With variants found
In many cultures,
Many traditions,

Though, of course, not all—
What are we doing,
How are we moving
Through them?

For you, they’re gossip,
Training for children,
And entertainments.
For us they’re bridges,

Continents, homelands,
And long voyages.
The deal the smith makes,
The beast of true love,

The sisters’ escape,
The bear in the stars,
What moves through your tales
Is us, but what’s us?