Petri Dish

Petri Dish by debgrant

After the primordial ooze

and the sky and sea settled their divorce

and the plants traded spores

and the other creatures sorted themselves,

then came the rough draft of spittle and mud.

Something different. At best, an experiment.

A tiny slice of earthen legacy and yet regal.

Flexing its ability to consider itself,

to choose and act as if it is always right.

We are here. An experimental creature.

Sloppy. Arrogant. Afraid.

Reverent. Tender. Exuberant.

Viruses can morph into variants,

slipping under the vaccines at the gate,

Humans morph into variants that play and fight at life and death.

Some get to ponder it. Some get to eat today.

Some get to be obeyed. Some get to stay another day.

We are a giant experiment

Languishing in our Petri dish,

Waiting for the Twilight Zone episode to end,

to learn from our mistakes.

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