A Man Said to the Universe (Imitation) by Nicholas Ingalls
A man said to the universe, a three
Word statement. To that man, the words meant more.
“Sir, I exist!” The man proclaimed up to
The heavens. He meant to say he lived, he
Was there, he existed, he would thrive in
This world that was at the tips of his fingers.
To the universe he was nothing. Not
But a speck, a tiny user of the air
The universe supplied for him. Air that
Drifts across the earth, swirling in cycles
Of life and death, never destroyed nor to
Be created. There until the very
Land the man stands on collapses beneath
His feet, dragging him into the center
Of the earth, the very breadth from whence
He came. The cold, dank soil his new coffin.
“However,” replied the universe,
“The fact has not created in me a
Sense of obligation.” No laws that bind
The universe to hold onto life, the
Last light that sparkles, bright white in his blues,
Until the soulless, blank stare of his eyes
Roll back in his head, a man now without
Sight, white noise all that he now sees. A man
So blind in life, only on his last breath,
His last moments of conscious thought, does he
Finally see for the very first time,
The universe had no obligation
To find for the man that which he wanted.
Only the man’s job to achieve his will.
by Stephen Crane
A man said to the universe:
“Sir, I exist!"“However,” replied the universe,
“The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”
No comments:
Post a Comment