…. and a Yeti

There is a creature I would love to see
A hominid, like you and me
That lives in mountains far from view
On snowy steppes where forests grew
And yet, I wonder if it can be
Still so hard to find a Yeti
What kind of creature can so quietly live
To cast no shadow or clue give
As to how and why and what it could be
Lost deep in our collective memory
And yet...

Are you snaggle-toothed and razor-clawed
Or panda-ish and prone to snore
Do you have fur, a mountain bear
Or are you feathered, scaly, hippy-haired
Big cat, primate, dinosaur
Do you sing or do you roar
Do you forage for fruit and nuts
Or do you hunt and rip out guts?
Questions I have asked since a child
About Sasquatch, Bigfoot, creatures of the wild
Does the fossil record show
That once giant apes lived in the snow
Maybe I should look on Google maps
Use satellites for camera traps
And yet...

We scour our universe for life out there
A million, billion stars at which we stare
Use telescopes, computers, space probes, SETI
But we haven't found you yet,Yeti
Would we be kind when we do
Would we step softly in your shoes
Leave you to live in quiet grace
The rarest of our so-called human race?
Stranger creatures have emerged
The coelacanth for centuries submerged
Raised, phoenix-like from the ocean floor
New creatures found practically next door
And yet...

I've seen strange creatures too
Lungfish, gloworms, ligers in a zoo
But on my list of things left to see?
World Peace, the Taj Mahal... and a Yeti