Evolution under conditions of isolation

Though Darwin spent much time in Uruguay
and travelled south through Patagonia till
the Beagle Channel, it’s unsurprising why
his notebooks only started to distil
new theories after the Galapagos:
the isolation of those isles sparked new
behaviours in the fauna, hence the loss
or gain of body parts or bright new hues.

So now that I am isolated, I
must speculate what changes are in store.
Will I become a much less social creature?
Might I learn skills I never had before?
Could my skin tone become a telling feature?
Will I sprout wings, or horns? Another eye?











Hsien Min Toh has published four books of poetry, most recently Dans quel sens tombent les feuilles (Paris, 2016). He lives in Singapore.

You can see more of his work in 8.2