1.
Morality, What a Quaint Idea
Off the coast of Mexico
In the sea of Cortez
The dolphins gather
Every hot afternoon.
They form a circle
And herd all the little fish into a ball
Then everybody eats,
The little fish that is.
Pelicans dive into the ocean.
The dolphins jump out.
The ocean boils with
Little fish trying to escape
The bigger fish that would eat them.
The sun looks down
On this carnage
As it has for a billon years
Without comment.
2.
Faith
East of the mountains
There are no lights at night
Except for the ones
That have been there all along
Ten billon stars
Strewn across the sky
Like salmon eggs in a stream.
A salmon lays
A million eggs
And only one or two
Grow up and
Make it back home to
Lay another million eggs.
That’s the way the universe works
If man doesn’t survive
Long enough to become wise
Well something else
Born on a planet
Circling some far star
Will.
3.
What I Learned at Lunch
I am eating a hot dog
Outside
A Home Depot
I am trying
Not to get any fatter
So I eat the meat
And throw the bun
One piece at a time
Onto the asphalt.
Little brown birds
Living their fast little lives
Swoop in argue with each other
Grab a chunk and zip away.
Yes that’s how it is,
Everyman for himself.
Eat quickly!
Or get a peck on the ass.
Author notes
Three poems that speak to the issue (hopefully). "The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference”. Thanks for the opportunity to have them read.
A contest entry
- Darwin, Charles by whitecoffee.
1100 points, ended July 22, 13 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 7 of 7
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philosophy doesn't have to be dull and drab.
you make it easy for your readers to have fun and get some education lol
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Your piece fits the prompt so well, a comment on the indifference of nature. Well done.
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yes, something humorous and Darwinian here, for sure. Of course, any sophisticated look at human nature shows that there are built-in altruistic response mechanisms, as well as learned ones, that are moral, and are in place for our own good and survival of the "fittest."
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poem had me fron the get go
ejoyed brilliant write
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I really liked the way this went from the ocean to the universe to the Home Depot. It was a wonderful read, and I like the titles of each part. Thank you so much for entering this in the ocntest.
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Great!
I love the "evolution" of the piece going from dolphins to little brown birds on the asphalt... And the ending really adds punch to it all.
The structure and format also works, laying the whole business out in "sections" developing a blueprint of thought. Good work!
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fab! original. and captivating. great work here.
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