Best Poems Written by David Paddock

Fortunate

Think about us for a minute.

Zoom out and look. 

We're on a precious, improbable little haven.  

Protected from the vacuum and radiation of space by a thin blanket of gases ensnared by gravity. 

Warmed by a nuclear furnace within a band of optimal proximity. Celestial neighbors closer and further away haven't fared quite as well as we have.  

Embraced by magnetic fields generated by an ocean of molten minerals and metals swirling beneath our feet that protect us from the radiation of the star that keeps us alive.

With a friendly lunar neighbor that helps protect us from impacts, stabilises the inclination of our rotation, gives us our tides, and changes the shape of the planet as it faithfully encircles us. Eternally trapped in a dance of inertial repulsion and gravitational attraction. 

We are constructed from star dust, made of elements fused into existence during the last sequences of a dying star. 

The atoms that now form your body were formed in a massive nuclear reaction moments before a supernova sent them on their journey to their current location.

It's an incredibly fortunate thing that you're even here, living, thinking, feeling. 

We are pure energy, encapsulated in an organic shell. 

Every day is a gift. Use it wisely.

Copyright © David Paddock | Year Posted 2021