without divinity

no, no, no, no, no! the poet cried
suppose with me a moment
suppose there is no god, no God, no gods
no Spirit of the Universe
suppose there just is what we see, hear, touch, smell, and taste
wetl, and can describe with math
suppose the universe is as we know, learning as we go
then one way or another it is a cosmic accident
it happened this way and not another because it did
not because some divine will gave us cancer, crime, and corruption
there was no darkness into which
"Let there be light!" was spoken
in the beginning was nothing
but nothing is unstable
and BANG!
particles, light, vacuum, mass
and the universe created itself into the shape we perceive now
and we are part of that shaping
whether alone, as well as we can tell
or with neighbors not yet perceived
we happened to show up, and in the happening, some of us perceive wonder
but that does not mean wonder perceives us
there is no wonder as a thing
wonder is a feeling we have, some of us
it doesn't mean anything any more than we do
we are! we are! it is enough!
and when we're not, that too will be enough
the world does not need us any more than it needs the suns that burn out
or the puffs of seeds that children blow and laugh about
if you need meaning, make your life mean something to you
and maybe to folks around you
so when you're gone you live on in some memories
and die out like those stars
needless, worthless, and wonder-full

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