It was an ethereal gathering
the judiciaries floated to their duties
the evidence had been submitted
along with several pleas for mercy
All proceedings were being entered
into the eternal book of life
the fate of humankind lay in the balance
like an ailing patient…
beneath the surgeons’ knife
witnesses composed of every sentient spirit
that had perished by their hand,
every one of Gods’ creations
of the air, the sea, the land
There beneath the cosmic canopy
of a hundred thousand galaxies,
the stars as grains of sand
A single word, thundered,
borne upon the solar wind…
‘proceed’
The summons was more a thought
than a word and when all gathered
had taken their place
the case for the prosecution was heard…
Life on Earth can take care of itself
it is only the human
that endangers its health…
how dare they decide
what will live and what will die
only the human is perverse enough
to hunt something to extinction
for no other reason
than the dubious distinction
of hanging its head on a wall
or to lay its pelt upon a floor
that is already well carpeted
Humans are out of step
with creation and the world
in which they live.
The planet lives and breathes
and they do not see it
its heart beats with the passion
of a lovers’ tryst
and they will not feel it
the gift of existence operates
on a much vaster scale
than man can envisage,
to all intents and purposes,
man is still a savage
and try as he may cannot embrace
its slow and powerful rhythms
and has no desire to humble himself
in any attempt to try…
Humans!
Humans have hurt us and made us cry.
Wherever they came from,
whatever their genesis
they have been residents
on Earth for the blink of an eye
yet in their arrogance they claim
to be lords of all they survey
and in so doing have shown themselves
to be degenerate and dishonourable
in every way,
capable of levelling a city in less than a day
If they were to vanish tomorrow,
victims of their profound stupidity
and shallow morality,
the Earth would not miss them.
Rather, the rest of creation
would heave a sigh of relief,
a conviction that some
may find achingly sad
given the kind of potential they had.
I am aware that not all humans
are cut from the same flimsy cloth,
nor must we blame the tailor.
There are those among them
who choose to look at the world
through the eyes of a child
and see beauty in a landscape
that others would as soon defile
A minority can perceive eternity
in the crashing of waves against a shoreline
and discern the hand of God
in the flawless design of an insects’ wing
Others may shed tears of joy
over a sunset and still more as the sun rises
and the first lark of the day ascends,
its heart bursting with praise
as it sings in welcome of the new day.
Perhaps those Humans are exceptions to the rule….
perhaps they are merely lunatics?
It all rather depends on ones’ point of view.
Nevertheless…
In the face of all the evidence,
I humbly submit to the court
that these beings are guilty
of gross misconduct
and perpetrators of the vilest crimes
in our cosmic constitution.
The true extent of their
mismanagement and cruelty
cannot be measured at these proceedings,
for it would take too long
May it suffice to remind ourselves
that foremost among their manifold transgressions
are the crimes of apathy
toward the plight of their fellow creatures,
neglect of their home world
and last but by no means least…
barbarity of the most vicious
nature against their own kind.
The jury will now retire to consider its verdict
