The spirits of the animals of the forest still live on

Told in stories by mothers and fathers to their young

Told late at night when it’s too cold to sleep

The story of the Mighty Ape

Proud and strong

Who protected over all of us

Passed down from generation to generation

 

But you

Who are yet to survive the winter

Feel the freezing wind come creeping through your fur like a blanket

Until the memory of warmth is but a distant memory

You won’t know the story like I did

When it was more than just a story

A myth –

When it was real

The great images of a battlefield of trees

Man against Ape

Leaping up out of our imaginations for our playground

To listen in awe, in fear

 

But our homeland was destroyed

Our imaginations left behind

Even the Mighty Ape couldn’t protect us then

Couldn’t defend us against them

They who created the battlefield for us

They came with a low growl

Echoing it’s war cry through the forest

Our home

Giant yellow monsters rumbling towards us

Eyes flashing

Jaws crunching, roots stuck between it’s teeth

Destruction it’s primary goal or more –

Growth

For their overpopulated world of greed and hunger

We fled

 

So I apologise for the times we simply relocated because moving was easier than fighting –

Too scared to protest

Trying to learn the customs of another tribe

Slowly understanding their native tongue

Never really fitting in

 

I apologise for the times we ran

Crashing through the undergrowth

Beating our chests with our firsts the now gently cradle you

Swinging terrified through the treetops like our house was on fire –

Which is was

 

I apologise for all the times we just saw and watched complacently

As they tore up our home

I apologise

Because we didn’t fight back

And now look at us

Struggling to survive beside this city of smoke and ash

The smell of our ancestors the flavouring on their dinner

 

You will never get to swing as far as I did

Climb as high as I did

Know the world like I did

But now that we have learnt from our mistakes –

Their mistakes

For are we really the ones to blame?

We will fight back

Reclaim our home

We will not be the lost tribe, misplaced in history

The Last of Us

We will make them hear us through the blaring noises they pile upon us

 

So you can swing us far as I have

Climb as far as I have

Know the world like I have