35. Poetry

35.2. Poemotions

35.2.6. Text of book

Part Thirteen (continued)

Up and Away in the Universe

Start of page 302 in the book

Spring

Blades clean bright
cut the mouldered tapes
of Winter's chill embrace.

Resistless the black bark
is cloven by the tender thrust
of Spring:

its fragile power
drawn from the mighty coils that lie
compressed beneath the nourishment of earth.

Blade thrusting to our sight,
weapon strong against old foes -
mighty renewal beyond our grasp.

Hope shall not die,
nor anything we knew or hoped to know,
while these reminding shoots

burst shouting
all their strongest bonds -
and Nature moves again her powered wheel.

Start of page 303 in the book

Geneticals

I am, as you have long suspected and now know,
genetically designed -
though for years I fancied myself in control
at least of myself.

If one is not in control
at least of oneself, and one's genitals,
is it any comfort
to know one is genetically designed?

Well not much comfort, I thought to myself last night,
just after having been told all by some Source:
a creation which I guess was just a part
of that tiresome genetic designing.

I would rather be unique, I told the Source -
a unique soul designed by God,
clasped individually to His holy bosom:
but it seems God has delegated.

I can understand that God must have been far too busy
to take on each of our billions of souls in turn
and clasp them, one after one, to His holy bosom:
so I can see He felt compelled to delegate.

Obviously, it was not the sort of delegation we use.
God the Creator is far above these clumsy human techniques.
So the clever thing God hit on
was that tiresome genetic designing.

I really feel myself a victim
of clever God's tiresome genetic designing.
He might have stopped to think
what it entails.

Start of page 304 in the book

It entails in my tail, itching and longing:
genetics designed my tail to be obstreperous,
jumping out frequently, bothering also my brain,
bothering it again and again.

Humans I know must have Gods.
It's heretical, but these Gods I now call Geneticals.
The Geneticals made me what I am in my body.
I shall now walk away in my soul.