POOR REFLECTION

Posted on by poeteye

POOR REFLECTION

 

If we find life a few light-years from here,

and it turns out that that life’s multi-celled

and that it is intelligent,

I fear they’ll still be dumb,

and hope will be dispelled.

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What if they’re even stupider than us –

some ancient culture that never evolved –

no bronze age, their metallurgy stannous,

no art that’s great, no science problems solved,

no philosophical issues addressed,

not one mathematical postulate,

their cosmic observations not assessed

no genius apparent to celebrate?

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What if they are still tribal and wage war,

reminding us that we’ve not come that far?

 

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James Ph. Kotsybar's haiku achieved Martian orbit on September 22, 2014, becoming the first literature to another world, aboard NASA's MAVEN spacecraft. His poem, "Martian Connoisseur" has been circling the Red Planet for over 1,000 Earth days, however, Guinness Book of World Records, the Nobel Committee and Pulitzer Prize Directors have yet to weigh in on this record accomplishment. More information on MAVEN is available from https://mars.nasa.gov/maven/