Apex?

Others would question—as they should.

I’m working on part 2 of a three or four part series of meandering wonders about through-lines through these times. Every now and again, in the past of this “Alchemy of a Journey” substack, 267 essays to date, I’d send an original poem out into the ether—not for any acclaim or compliments, not for any other reason than to let words fly freely because it seemed they needed to.

John Mellencamp, in 1987, released what became my second favorite song of his. In it, he speaks of poets. Now, as a career public school educator, I knew poets, and taught poets—every single one of my students, from junior high all the way down to pre-kindergarten, were busy writing the poetry of their lives—screaming out their words, as it were, they were, hoping with great hope someone would hear them. This Mellencamp song always makes me think of those students. Well, every student, actually. Here, from the finale of his song “Check It Out,” just…check it out:

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A million young poets screaming out their words
Maybe someday those words will be heard
By future generations riding on the highways that we built
Maybe they'll have a better understanding
Check it out
Hope they'll have a better understanding
Check it out
Maybe they'll have a better understanding
Check it out
Maybe they'll have a better understanding
Check it out
Hope they have a better understanding

---

One of the through lines we must navigate, through these troubling times, happens to be through the environment, the natural landscapes of our living, that we are nowhere near understanding just how fragile it is, nor our role in its degradation—we ignorantly continue to wreak havoc not understanding the countless lives of countless beings we have removed and are removing from the face of Mother Earth. “Why worry about such piddling things? We are HUMAN afterall—with our “god-given” dominion over all other beings.” Plus, there’s money to make in it!

Yeah, right.

I don’t have an intended audience for this poem. Today seemed a good day to let it fly down the ethereal highways we’re building. But to whomever reads it, I hope they have a better understanding.

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i am human, and yet…

i have two eyes and yet
the eagle,
the owl,
the giraffe, 
all have eyes that function better
in this world of form and food and function. 
my eyes not “as good as theirs.” 

i have a nose and yet
the dog,
the salmon,
the bee,
all have noses that function better
in this world of smell and hunger and danger.
my nose not “as good as theirs.”

i have two ears and yet
the bat,
the dolphin,
the elephant,
all have ears that function better
in this world of noise and relationship and silence.
my ears not “as good as theirs.”

i have legs and yet
the cheetah, 
the horse,
the rabbit,
all have legs that function better
in this world of faster and longer and quicker.
my legs not “as good as theirs.”

i have muscles and yet
the gorilla,
the orca,
the grizzly,
all have muscles that function better
in this world of bigger and stronger and power.
my muscles not “as good as theirs.” 

i have a brain and yet
many say this is what distinguishes me 
once and for all
from every other earth-known creature.
but my brain in this world
has created guns,
and bombs,
and wars,
to function as efficient tools to kill
all forms of life
with brains of their own, 
or not. 
why should my brain distinguish itself
amidst the tools of destruction only it has birthed into this world? 
is my brain truly better than theirs?

on the evolutionary tree of life,
humans are at the self-proclaimed pinnacle. 
every other being would beg to differ if they could.

“Why?” is all they’d have to ask.

Why?

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~ k