What is Man?

What is man - a frail bundle
Of flesh, nerve and bone,
No match for the great predators
During the age of stone,
Vulnerable and weak,
He had no wings,
He hugged the ground,
He hid in woods
And trees and caves,
Afraid of being found,
But what he did
Helped him survive,
His hiding was not in vain,
For over thousands of years
He quietly developed a brain
And with his growing mind
And intellect he conquered all,
Became the king of beasts,
The hero, walked free and tall,
And with his mind, his creativity
He spanned the universe,
The gods looked upon this
Little creature in astonishment
And said what we made here
Surely deserves a compliment,
But while the gods just wined
And dined and celebrated
To toast that small but brilliant
Man they had created,
The little man developed
A new bomb and was exterminated,
The gods all shook their heads,
Laughed and said: 'Just as well,
Had they gone on,
They would be gods
And sent us all to hell...'

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2006 Alfred Charasz