Teaching Wonderment

There is no better goal in life than to greet its end and say you made others happy;
That generosity will live on and you will not be recalled in infamy.
If you can share a desire to learn; if you can inspire others to grow,
Then this world is better for you, and your loss would be a heartfelt blow.

There is so much more to existence than greed and self-fulfilment,
There is wonder and mystery and their unearthing breeding wonderment.
When confronted with the majesty of the beauty which surrounds us,
There is no better gift than comprehension and I greet it with almighty fuss.

There are men who will chastise me and call me a dreamer or a fool,
To them I shout that to deny education is more evil than ‘tis cruel.
To stand in the way of learning’s progress; to impede the dance of our people into bliss,
Is an affront to what makes us good, and that which best proclaims our right to exist.

The aromas of the glens and the virginity of spring snow,
I feel joy for those who love them and weep for those who don’t.
We revel in the daytime and experiencing it well we might,
But ‘neath it all do not forget that some secrets are only shown at night.

Take a stellar nursery and the most exquisite introduction of life one could picture,
With such magnificence on show I ask, is this not true rapture?
The only thing more extraordinary than life is the beginnings of our understanding,
And I swear it truly; there is nothing in this world deadened by our learning.

But whether you hold true to evolution or believe in intelligent design,
Can we not as one accept that our mere existence is divine?
The world around us and beyond the skies, the mystery of space,
Both present exquisiteness which must be shared with our whole race.

To understand is to love and to love is to rejoice,
When faced with that and ignorance there is naught but false choice.
Defy those who hold you back and reach for the sky.
For if we fail in this simple task, our future will surely cry.

To those who opened my eyes to words and science and imagery,
My gratitude is heartfelt and I assure you that you bettered me.
You began to cure my ignorance and there is no more noble task,
And so I conclude with simple thanks, though not one of you ever asked.

It's rare that I'm moved to write poetry as opposed to a story or script (hopefully laden with sex, swear words and spaceships, of course), but listening to Paolo Nutini's single, Iron Sky recently, I heard an excerpt from Charlie Chaplin's famous speech from The Great Dictator and immediately started typing. I've loved learning all my adult life and understanding the wonder that surrounds us through science and the arts, but unfortunately when I was at school this came secondary to mucking about and getting in trouble, so this developed into both an exclamation of joy at what I've seen so far in life, and also a thank you to those who set me on the road.

No planned style or rhythym; just what came to me. As with all poetry, it's designed to be read aloud and (hopefully!) savoured.