A Small Part of the Story of Being
having arrived at this juncture
of learning the man made structure
of creations, gods, demons and time
and various situations not quite so sublime
where nothing under the sun appears to be new
let us take a moment to focus upon that which seems true
thirteen billion years or so ago
our universe began to grow
from a tightly bound bundle of particles
to what now seems extremely remarkable
one small slight insignificant transaction
turning into a continuous chain reaction
churning, igniting, expanding,flowing to create space
and all the ingredients which would make the human race
from a foaming, combustible, ubiquitous cosmic plasma
to galaxies and quasars which would eventually interest NASA
more heavenly chaos for nine billion years
until the formation of our solar system began to appear
one billion more for our planet to cool down
allowing chemical reactions in a heat vent to abound
creating uncountable, squirming first-to-life amoebas
which over 2 billion years would mutate into creatures filling our seas
800 million years back carbon dioxide falling by chance
led to a 300 million year process which created the plants
seducing some of the sea’s creatures
to exit the ocean and live on the beaches
one complete orbit around the galaxy more
the dinosaurs went from real to beings of yore
an asteroid’s sudden impact sealing their fate
only for insects, birds and smaller animals was it not too late
but an evolutionary instant ago
the first upright apes entered the show
taking six to nine million years longer
to evolve into those first humans which we now ponder
those first two hundred thousand years for a back and forth humanity being quite rough
survival, an every hour challenge for even those who had proved themselves the most tough
the past ten thousand years of human history
to most are something of a lesser mystery
from caves, to huts, to primitive houses, human life took on more appeal
as mankind spread across continents domesticating animals, using the wheel
natural disasters, marauding carnivores, pestilence all took their toll
as human inhumanity to humans continued to play an even more worrisome role
ignoring the ever expanding universe’s part in providing for the entire situation
gods and religions arose for emotional support and to misinform about the creation
internal combustion engines wrought trains, planes, pollution and automobiles
electricity brought lights, appliances, communication devices and newsreels
making that which had been such a difficult life so much easier with many empty hours to fill
with theories, fantasies, movies, books, sporting events and making mountains out of mole hills
wars still being fought much too often as advanced nations began exploring the cosmos
better medicines to fight viruses and nuclear weapons which threaten to turn humanity into compost
churning wheels, internal combustion engines, coal-fired power plants
fires burning everywhere, environmental protections much too scant
human activity creating a rapidly expanding carbon footprint
threatening to leave our planet's fragile environment totally spent
three billion years of evolutionary progress
now being positioned for full egress
dirty air and water, flora and fauna beginning to die
all could be gone in the blink of eternity's eye
so here we now are
a species having come very far
would be such a shame
with no humans around to blame
for allowing meaningless grievances and willful ignorance
to threaten the opportunity for continued human existence
Copyright ©
Ng Rippel
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