A thought-provoking free verse poem inspired by the 2008 situation in Kenya. |
There is no depravity so vile, so heinous that Mankind won’t commit it, be it murder, genocide, child abuse, torture, assorted mayhems, anything imaginable in Hell, like the gang raping of women ongoing in Kenya at present. This same Man is capable of great kindness and touching gentleness that springs from his ability to love, nurture, and protect others. How can these two opposites exist within the same vessel? Mankind comes by it naturally. Like the lion, Man is but a beast, a beast dedicated to survival of his progeny above all others. He can hold his own dear, while burning with disdain for the family of any others, who are his non-self. Under it all, it is the preservation of one’s own DNA which is the unspoken motivator of Man’s existence and his actions. The male lion that displays loving gentleness with his own cubs, letting them bite his ears and swat his tail, is the same lion that, as the newly won pride leader, savagely murdered all the pride’s cubs sired by the displaced leader so that all the lionesses would soon be receptive to his seed and his DNA would live on in all their newborn cubs. Beneath the veneer of civilization and sophistication, this rule of Nature still runs deep within Mankind. The one true golden rule is ensure the survival of bearers of your DNA. All else is subject to apathy or contempt. In Nature, Man and lion are both simply beasts, and a beast dwells in each. The scientist in me sees and understands this. The poet in me has grown old and disillusioned waiting for the hand of God to modify Mankind’s vicious nature and put an end to all the genocides, to all the raping, and to all the atrocities that abound. I fear Mankind shall forever remain simply a brutal beast of Nature. Please check out my ten books: http://www.amazon.com/Jr.-Harry-E.-Gilleland/e/B004SVLY02/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0 |