Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Real World vs. Bible

I’ve seen fossils of the ammonites, in lovely curving spirals,
I’ve seen children saved from certain death by modern antivirals,
I’ve seen salmon swim up waterfalls, to find their tiny brook--
And you’re asking me to trade it for the contents of one book?

I’ve seen galaxies, and nebulas of brilliant glowing gases
I’ve seen Painted Desert valleys; I’ve seen Rocky Mountain passes
I was at the Gulf of Corinth when the earth beneath me shook--
Do you really think I’d trade it for some stuff that's in a book?

I’ve seen elephants and rhinos; I’ve seen buffalo and deer
I’ve seen humpback whales I almost could have touched, they came so near;
I’ve seen giant redwood forests, where I craned my neck to look;
Is there anything so awesome in your tiny little book?

I’ve seen microscopic beasties of a thousand different forms
I’ve seen hurricanes, tornadoes, snow and hail and thunderstorms
I’ve seen babies reach adulthood—Oh, how little time it took!
And I would not trade one heartbeat for that obsolescent book!

I’ve seen beauty that you couldn’t buy, no matter what the price;
I have tasted of life’s bounty, each ingredient and spice--
I would throw it all together in a pot, and let it cook…
And I guarantee it’s better than the contents of your book;
Yes, I’d sooner starve, than swallow all the poison in your book.


******

Inspired by, but totally not a copy of, this.
And yeah, it's all true. Which is the best part of all.

6 comments:

Johnny Vector said...

I've seen rockets that could take a crew to orbit 'round the Earth,
I've been standing by the nose of spaceships waiting in their berth.
You can see it in my profile picture here, just take a look--
It required a million pages; not a one was in your book.

Cuttlefish said...

You are a steely-eyed missile man, Johnny V.,
and I wish I had seen that!

RetroGeekGirl said...

For some reaon, I read that to the tune of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" in my head. Fits together well, lol.

kirsten said...

I've seen some finches give rise to two different types of birds
I know viruses mutate - you mean you haven't heard?
I've read a lot and when I had my doubts I took a look
and found nothing's explained by all the crap that's in that book!

*bows in deference to the mighty cuttlefish*

Benjamin Geiger said...

1. Cuttlefish, you should probably clean up. Mabus just crapped all over your blog.

2.

I've seen silicon and copper made into technology
And I've made a number-crunching chip much smaller than a flea
You can't possibly imagine how much extra work it took
When folks were limited to just the contents of your book!

Cuttlefish said...

Thanks--done.