". . . And ere the fall of Nargathrond and Gondalin, we have fought the long defeat."
-Tolkien

We were once monsters crawling in the slime;
Once that was, but that was so long ago.
Out we crawled, and over eons of time
We rose up and to greatness we did grow.
And so it was, but that was long ago.
From less-than-slime to Man! O, what a feat!
From single cells up to the greatest known!
And since then, we have fought the long defeat.
We were strong once, our strength could ne'er deplete,
But O that time has passed! We're so "refined"
That now we all must fight the long defeat.
O how we've fallen and so far declined!
There is one thing that is quite plain to see:
Apes once we were, and apes again we'll be.