When the last breath of the last Woolly Mammoth rose into a leaden sky, did the universe notice? Was there a pause or ripple across the reaches of space? When a species is gone, I think it leaves an imprint, a ghost of itself on the fabric of time, keeping the record honest and the world from flying apart.
Jean Ryan, a native Vermonter, lives in Lillian, Alabama. Her stories and essays have appeared in a variety of journals and anthologies. She has also published a novel, LOST SISTER. Her short story collections, SURVIVAL SKILLS and LOVERS AND LONERS, are available online. STRANGE COMPANY, a collection of short nature essays, is available in paperback as well as digital and audio editions.
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10 thoughts on “The Last Woolly Mammoth”
A beautiful sentiment for another sentient being.
Love you, Taya.
I love this. Beautifully written. I believe there is always something left. A memory. An instinct. A carving. A bit of dust. And all that energy to keep things going.
Thank you, Joan. I believe this too.
Thank you for letting me know. I love it and I commented.
Honestly? Is there anything you can’t do?
Good night sweet and talented one 😘
Sew.
I read this profound piece yesterday and kept returning to it. I read it aloud last night looking up into the frosty sky of dusk in upstate PA far from NYC. I can now recite it from memory. Beautiful, Jean. You rock! Happy Yuletide to You & Cindy. XOXO
As do you, John. Thank you so much.
You are truly attuned to nature and how we attempt, feebly, to coexist!
Jean Ryan 
A beautiful sentiment for another sentient being.
Love you, Taya.
I love this. Beautifully written. I believe there is always something left. A memory. An instinct. A carving. A bit of dust. And all that energy to keep things going.
Thank you, Joan. I believe this too.
Thank you for letting me know. I love it and I commented.
Honestly? Is there anything you can’t do?
Good night sweet and talented one 😘
Sew.
I read this profound piece yesterday and kept returning to it. I read it aloud last night looking up into the frosty sky of dusk in upstate PA far from NYC. I can now recite it from memory. Beautiful, Jean. You rock! Happy Yuletide to You & Cindy. XOXO
As do you, John. Thank you so much.
You are truly attuned to nature and how we attempt, feebly, to coexist!
Love and many thanks.