PAREIDOLIA

(The Shapes Of Perception)

Predators have faces, so our brain

is hardwired to recognize such shapes

that may be hidden amidst the terrain,

since before modern man emerged from apes.

Our imagination’s proclivity

to spot a beast’s approach or arrival

is not a gauge of creativity

but evolutionary survival.

The animals viewed in cloudy billows

originate from fears we could be prey,

should stalkers surprise us from the willows.

Forewarned, we may have time to run away.

The man we see in the moon’s one of these,

as is the blessed virgin in grilled cheese.