! E V O L U T I O N Poem by Michael Shepherd

evolution is no rogue elephant –
crashing blindly through the forests of ignorance
and the rain-forests of mercy, alike –
trampling temples, churches, mosques
in some apparent iconoclasm –
scattering and shattering equipment
in the laboratories of men -
seeking a wise mahout who will tame
and understand its wildness,
or a Darwin who will zoo it,
watch it tenderly, take notes…

no, evolution is a precious golden glimpse
into the mind of – name That as you will –
Paramatman, Jehovah, Jupiter, or God,
Allah, The Creator, World Soul, Intelligent Designer…

who works in subtlety, bound by His own rules..
who works at differing speeds
in our so wonderful human entities…:

to change our body physical, it takes
many many generations to ‘evolve’ –
to grow –let’s say, to take example
at our finger-ends as we work at our computers –
finger-nails fromclaws…

and yet, to evolve in mind, researchers say
- the rearguard in this baggage train,
studying the evidence from the teeming brain –
to evolve the mind may take
one human being just a lifetime,
then pass this capability to a willing child…

and yet again, to evolve
in spirit, being, higher consciousness –
a few years’ work, or months, or days,
and, zap! the favoured ones –
Saint Paul, Eckhart Tolle, dare I instance –
transcend their former level in the twinkling
of Evolution’s eye, and tell the world
what worlds lie waiting in man’s inner man…

evolution whispers its golden secret in our inner ear:
there, where hope and possibility meet and kiss,
we live; on the edge of greatness,
magnificent, glorious; what a piece of work is Man!