INTRODUCTION        In a small dark cave in the hills of Northern Iraq near the Turkish border the excavator Ralph Solecki found in 1960 the bones of a young man placed in the recess between two large boulders. Analysis of the remains from the cave of Shanidar determined that the burial occurred over 60,000 years ago.
       Soil samples collected near the bones were only analyzed several years later and produced a quite unexpected result. Ordinarily a small random assortment of pollen grains would be found in funereal soil samples, but the Shanidar soil analysis revealed thousands of pollen grains from wild flowers of the region. Flowers of rose mallow, hollyhocks, hyacinths, and other indigenous varieties of flowers had been systematically collected and transported to the cave of Shanidar as a funerary tribute.
       Astonished, the scientists were confronted with the earliest known evidence of a burial ritual. From the very dawn of mankind a message had come down to us, written in pollen grains from the flowers of Shanidar, of the birth of a new consciousness — the consciousness of death.
       How far have we progressed in the knowledge of ultimate destinations in the 600 centuries since that funeral celebration? As we stand before the door to the new millennium, do we dare to knock? Are we ready for the new flowers of Shanidar and the birth of consciousness that will surely accompany our passage into that new era?


These poems are from Bobby Matherne’s 1990 book of poetry, Flowers of Shanidar and have been published on the Internet in various DIGESTWORLD Issues. Here is a complete Index of Links to every poem. (Flowers drawn by Artist Maureen Grace Matherne)

1. Chapter: Rose Mallow

~~~ (Click Poem to View) ~~~~~	~~~ (Click Poem to View) ~~~~~
Flowers of Shanidar	Waiting for the Flowers
Tree of Life	Many Trees
Submarine Ferry	A Lotus Grows
Ariadne's Ball	Synesthesia
Noah's Place	Great Sprinkler
Mister Sperm	Cosmic Fireworks
Sprouts	Virtual Reality
Three Telephone Poles	Crystal Mining
I Am Your Fetus	Dance of Energy