LIFE ELSEWHERE
There surely must be life elsewhere than Earth
Within the vastness of infinity;
The Power that brought us forth would have no dearth
Of its original capacity;
It’s only that the distances are vast,
And any traveler from afar would need
To voyage longer than a life could last
For its amazing mission to succeed.
Assuming, though, the speed of light to be
Not instantaneous, but nearly so,
Perhaps we’ll summon the capacity
To know the far away and long ago.
But then, there may be knowledge best unknown—
It may be better if we’re all alone.
*
MANDATE
To take for granted all that we’ve been granted
Instead of feeling that this world’s enchanted
And rife with miracles evoking praise
Is to neglect the wonder of our days:
How out of nothing everything emerged
By a grand Providential Maker urged
Who from the womb of Earth brought forth our kind
Blessed with not only precious life but mind,
Thus able to appreciate and praise
Our Source and heartfelt hallelujahs raise;
So therefore, we’re ungrateful and remiss
If we persist in attitudes like this;
Instead, to be God-like and to create
Is to fulfill our Maker’s prime mandate.
*
LIFE AFTER LIFE II
There’s hear-say and there’s read-say about death
And our survival in an afterlife
As if our spirit lived beyond our breath,
A thought, for most of us, to make us blithe.
And then, imagining we live again
Reincarnated for another round
Were fortune warranting a loud “Amen,”
As if one were majestically crowned—
Unless, of course, your life had been like hell
And you were happy to be shed of it,
Glad to be freed from such a wicked spell
Your raveled sleave of care at last unknit.
Now, as for me, as long as you appear,
I’ll gladly see you there and then, my Dear.
*
