Etymology

Weed through the slang
of pompous modern man,
past every status phrase
coined for new roles,
back past the jargon
forged for every plan that sought
to raise mankind
to higher goals,
then back beyond
the crafty printing press
that made a civil language
of each tongue,
yes, back when words
could fluidly express
a hero's tale,
when praise and
prayer were sung,
then back
into the prehistoric slime
to find that beastly grunt
or frightened groan
and like a riddle
trace a word through time.
It's age-old journey's
not unlike our own,
for with each subtle change
you'll find unfurled
within that word
the history of the world.