Incipient joy of
each new morning
sunlight impaling this planet
with color and warmth
gift of life
harbinger of possibilities.
Magnificent eagle effortlessly
riding the air in a pageantry of remarkable grace,
engineering its nest
in liberating spring air.
Great hordes of wildebeests
migrating across the Kenyan plains
in the elaborate and relentless
search for sustenance.
Polar bears shimmering in the
light of summer sun,
symbols of both strength and
nobility of spirit
prowling on Alaskan sea ice.
Orcas among their kin
sleek and graceful bodies
moving in defiance of gravity
denizens of the vast oceans
where life itself began.
Evening cry of the owl
perched on a crimson-hued tree
in the light of the waning sun
preparing for the hunt.
Leaf cutter ants moving
in ordered precision
on the tropical forest floor
on their way to and from
their magnificent nest.
All this inimitable beauty
fragile and bountiful
held hostage
by the human penchant
for comfort and convenience.
All these gifts bestowed by nature
threatened by mindless hubris,
the promise of gold,
the possibility of endless riches.
World laid bare by such
trivial pursuits,
world made destitute by the
naked will to power,
Pointless folly of our collective endeavor
to fashion a life
with us at the center
endangering the very soul of existence.
So far removed from the
exuberance and vibrancy of nature,
we risk stripping the future of
meaning.
What is the ultimate reward of
amassing the trinkets that delight us
in spite of the ultimate cost?
If human life has purpose and meaning,
why are we so determined to unravel
the very essence of our collective future?
This vivid blue marble suspended in the cosmos
dancing around a yellow star at the periphery of a
rather ordinary pinwheel galaxy
among billions of its kind,
is our home.
This vivid blue marble suspended in the cosmos
upon whose surface we are mere transients
it is not ours to possess,
it is not ours to devour
it is not ours to profane.
