a large walleye jumped
from Lake Erie to be met
by an eagle’s talons

thirteen billion years evolved
to the walleye, the eagle,
the water, the sky, the beach

all assembled in a
community of isness
only nature could cause

but outside this private
world, man’s evil was
stalking the Earth

a genetic code buried
in man’s beginning had
birthed homicidal greed

kings arose, unimpeded
by morals or empathy
to murder for power,

propagating perpetual
violence, ruining lives
and eradicating hope

mindlessly raping
nature, leaving dirt
and twisted brambles

ending in a rock of fire
and ice hurtling through space
like a lifeless asteroid

yet somewhere along
time’s immense arc,
green will reappear

fish will glitter in the sun,
eagles dive, and little things
thrive wherever flowers grow