Does intelligent life exist
somewhere beyond our home?
It is a question
we might ponder
as we sit in our house alone
Are there creatures
building towers
somewhere among the stars?
Do they fly in
Millennium Falcons
or drive in fancy cars?
What would we discover
if one day
our paths would meet?
Would they greet me
with kindness
or would I be squashed
beneath their feet?
So much we do not know
of these places far away,
but what if we examine
what we can see today?
When we let our eyes gaze
though the prairies and the trees,
our eyes appear cluttered
Do we fail to see?
When we look upon the creatures
already in our view,
we call them dumb and stupid
or turn them into stew
We cannot grasp their language,
so we assume they cannot speak
We see them for our profit,
so we cut their limbs and beaks
We fail to feel their pain,
so we pay it little mind
To their quest for life,
we have truly become blind
If we allow ourselves to look,
oh the wonders we will see
Protection of each other,
displays of empathy
Memory and pain,
cooperation, love,
communication, planning,
from the salmon to the dove
If we could only listen,
if we could only hear,
what would they be saying
if they could whisper in our ear?
You are more important,
continue not to care?
Ignore our pain and sorrow,
it seems completely fair?
Destroy our forests and our seas,
leave no stone unturned?
Put shampoo into our eyes
to see if it will burn?
Your comfort is foremost,
and your taste buds are divine,
we do not mind at all,
on our bodies, please do dine?
Confine us into cages
or squash us as a pest,
wear our skin upon you,
we will not protest?
Because we cannot hear them
in words we understand,
we declare them stupid,
far below the clever man
When we define intelligence
and what sets us apart,
the ability to mass pollute
is that what makes us smart?
Cutting down rainforests,
poisoning the air,
the production of plastic
that will always linger there
Or maybe it is our money
and how it is dispersed
The greed that comes upon us
in our endless thirst
Who deserves so little
and who deserves great pay,
choosing who deserves to eat,
is this how intelligence is displayed?
If extraterrestrials came upon us
from a galaxy away,
would we even try
to hear what they had to say?
If they sounded to us like lions
or elephants or seals,
we could call them unintelligent,
never hearing their appeals
If we happen upon these creatures
from somewhere far beyond,
I hope they show more compassion
than the species to which I belong
As we look around us
each day after birth,
I wish we saw the signs
of the intelligent life on Earth
22 Jun 2017
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