Original

Unlikelier than any

Of the theories would be if

Some one individual

Just up and started talking,

Say, one evening by a fire,

One afternoon on a hunt,

One morning gathering roots.

Is anyone listening?

Those were the first words spoken

In the imagination,

Followed by grumbling complaints.

Or maybe it was a poem,

Something chanted, a loud wish

For something to be granted,

And, when that thing was granted,

Everyone was envious

And began chanting themselves,

And that was human language.

Better yet, just muttering,

Not in the least bit social,

Eventually overheard,

The original ear worm.

So then the muttering spread,

And this is where it all led.