what does it say of us

who live at the tail end of industrial hubris

on a sphere

adrift in space

without any other voice

we can hear nor comprehend

 

we who live

beneath the icy sheen of ozone in a viscous goo so rich

with all manner of life

that it is the envy of empty orbs

for lightyears around

and we yet we want more

…

newts, antelope,

amoebas, pines, moths

panthers, willows, scorpions

all manner of fungi

and moss

and bacteria

and fauna

and flora

…

what does it say of our times

when an era replaces the living

with barcodes

and then encases them in plastic

or sprays them

with chemicals

 

what does it say of our morality

whose flags and bombs and rulers and celebrities

garner more honour than our kin

and whose borders carve up the warm loam

of whence we came

and where we shall return

…

pollywogs, carps,

hornbills, banyans, hydras

lemurs, wasps, mold

all manner of fungi

and moss

and bacteria

and fauna

and flora

…

what does it say of our existence

who lie about what it means

to possess a body

attached to this mortal coil

yet casually replace it

with pixelated zeros and ones

 

our moments are scattered

like the dust we breathe in

and time we experience

is limited

even as we treat it as a bane

to be idle

 

what, then, does it say of us

 

Kenn Orphan  March 2021

 

*Photo is by Kenn Orphan. It is the silhouette of a howler monkey, and was taken in the rainforests of Nicaragua. 

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