The Asterisks

In distant ages long since past
Before the horse and plough
Asterisks in great herds roamed
Where we are standing now

They stretched as far as eye can see
Across the black soil plains
And we can only mourn their fate,
Not one of them remains

When the white man first arrived
On this fatal shore
He hunted all those noble beats
Until there were no more

He ate their mighty haunches
He wore their furry pelts
He rubbed the oil from their bones
Upon his cuts and welts

They tried to keep the species on
In zoo captivity
But Asterisks will only breed
When they are running free

And so, in geologic terms
Before an eye had blinked
The Asterisk was added to
The list of those extinct