there’s been a lot of talk lately about destroying the world
about how we’re going to destroy the world with our automobiles
or our appetites or plastics or nuclear bombs
or something dark and sinister sprung from a lab somewhere
or who knows what, but we’ll find a way
or so the story goes
as if we could destroy the world
it’s a big world, and it’s pretty heavy
we could wreck the environment
destroy our civilization
kill off a fairly large number of ourselves and other animals besides
(we’ve been working on that one for a while)
but destroy the world?
the bacteria hear our talk and laugh their quiet laughter
to them, we’re little more than food and incubators
they know we ain’t gonna be destroyin’ no world
for that, you need a fairly large asteroid or an exploding star
no overgrown monkey all full of itself is going to be destroying any worlds
whatever other damage it may do
the bacteria laugh and whisper, little monkey, get a grip
(Copyright 2003, 2023 by Tetman Callis.)