HERE AND NOW

               Perhaps we should believe we are alone
               In all the vastness of the cosmic scope,
               All other planets only fire or stone,
               None to fulfill our amiable hope.

               Though we have trained our telescopic probes
               On distant galaxies, seeking for signs
               Of probability on other globes,
               We know no other world with such designs.

               Nor are we like to know.  A better aim
               For all our science and technology
               Would be to learn collectively to tame
               Our race’s lust for animosity.

                    This gift of life we must assume unique;
                    How to live well is what we need to seek.

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