we are alive
in an expanding universe
in a time of starlight
our planet is small
& in the sway of forces
whose purpose
we do not understand
there may be a God or gods
that not all of us
hear
though some of us
pray
we are shocked to be
alone in the dark
we are blessed
with a local sun,
predictable orbits,
neighborhood planets,
comets & a
moon
we want to walk
on the milky way
we are shocked to be
alone in the dark
we are alive
with breathing animals
& plants
with a breathing ocean
& a breathing
atmosphere
even our seasons
& our aeons breathe
upward & downward
in time
we do not truly know
if we are alone––
we call out
without answer––
it falls to us
to protect all breath
& breathing things
if made of dust,
we’re made
of articulate, smart,
energetic dust
dust which we share
as our birthright with
all living things
& all things
how miraculous
to be one
with all the wonder that lives
& all the wonder that is
in an earlier time
our race exalted itself
as “man the sapient,”
& announced
its self as
“the measure of all things”
now
we’re machines
with blood in our veins,
electronic & chemical
operating systems &
inter-changeable 3D-print-out
parts
still we can cope
still we are grand
still we fall
in love
we tumble into the tidal
flows
of our chemical days––
we hurt
we yearn
we rage
all under the influence––
we plug both our ears
with constant stimulation
& keep our fingers busy
to drown our minds
in pheromones
beware the pavlovian puppeteers
who will to manipulate
your heart
to own
your soul
who controls the national
reality?
who sets the global emotional
climate?
what happens when every
society becomes an object
of conditioning & all
are brainwashed?
beware
the newest genus/species
in the world is
homunculus roboticus––
the perfected human being––
one trait at a time––
the perfect universal memory––
perfect hearing & speech––
unerring logic & calculation––
massive strength & unlimited speed––
perfectly refined
fine motor-skills, touch, smell & feel
robots do all/are all
that a human imagines
they want to be
only better––
they communicate
together from everywhere
at once &
they do not die
we humans are the god
of this creation
creating gods––
we are only at the beginning of
robot time
we will live long enough
to see what we have
wrought
we are the people of the earth
with a golden rule––
to love one another
all that there is on this planet
is ours to cherish, to care for,
& to share––
paradise is ours
in a moment &
forever––
with love
there is nothing
we cannot do
we are a living miracle
& we have the strength
to build a human way––
to create our destiny
& our meaning for being here––
to declare an eternity
of caring
& to nurture light
as long as light
can be