Jane Goodall (b. 1934)
The chimpanzees saw I was
a female, and therefore
not a threat to them.
My work happened
because of my gender,
not despite it.
I was the lowest ranked,
but I was in, allowed. For a time.
Then cast out. Still, I knew them
better than anyone ever has.
I’d know each one, even now.
Not so much by their faces
as by their sounds, and the way
they approach. If they were willing.
If they still knew who I was.
They would.
I think they would.