ÉLAN VITAL

The animus, the energy, the force
Of our vitality—élan vital,
Mysterious, unfathomable source
Of every earthly creature, great and small—

What can we do but worship this with awe,
Perhaps personify it as a god
Or Mother Nature, red in tooth and claw,
Who raised up human beings from a clod?

Instead of worship, we might emulate
This same creative force, seeking to find
By science how to pry and extricate
The means by which this Wonder was designed.

And yet for all that scientists may try,
They’ll never answer the prime question: Why?

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