The Rock

 

The rock in the great forest
Is billions of years old
It is the very origin of Earth
To this rock on which I’m treading
I am nothing at all
Not even a blink of an eye

The water in the river
Is billions of years old
It is the very origin of Earth
To this river which I wade in
I am nothing at all
Not even a blink of an eye  
                                              
The air which I am breathing
Is billions of years old
It is the very origin of Earth
To the air that fills my lungs
I am nothing at all
Not even a blink of an eye

The same rock that I am treading
The same water that I wade in
The same air that I am breathing
Did the dinosaurs once tread on, wade and breathe
And it boggles my mind to think that the Tyrannosaurus
Lived closer to me in time than to the Stegosaurus
For time is a vast thing to us living beings
But it is nothing to the Earth

I see relatives here wherever I turn
For my ancestor is the same
As that of the pretty blue tit
And the beetle on the ground
And the white anemone flower
And the majestic beech

And all of us are here
At this brief point in time
Just to make life go on
And live for a blink of an eye
For life is fragile and passing in us
But life as a force is strong       

To our Earth time is nothing
And not minutes, hours, days and weeks
Or even months and years
Mean anything at all
But life is in a hurry
Always to move on

I  look across the deep ravine
I feel humble, struck with awe
I feel so small in nature’s grand embrace
In nature’s brutal force
And a feeling grows inside me
That puts a smile upon my lips
The insight that I am completely useless
Utterly insignificant in the great scheme of all things

Species will come and go
As they have always done
Even humans will die out some day
As every species do
Our cities will fall to ruins
In nature’s rough embrace
And Earth will soon forget
That we were ever here at all

Yes, I am completely useless
My life doesn’t mean a thing
And thus there’s no point in worrying
About petty little things
For soon I will be once more gone
Without a single trace

I’m here not even for a blink of an eye
So what can I do with my precious time
Other than enjoying my life and love
It is those things that life is for
And I’ll be thankful for my life
My precious, fleeting gift