It might well be that the cosmos exists
Only because we do too
And we sense the universe around us.
It’s like Schrodinger’s Cat:
Only existing for sure when we
Open The Box.
Or that Double Slit Quantum Particle Thing
By Thomas Young
Where Quanta seem to know
When we are watching.

Those glorious sunrises and sunsets
What we live for
Only appear
Because we are here.

Without us there is soulless light
Shining upon indifferent clouds
In a realm of lifeless gas, dust
And rock.

We are the ones who see
The awesome beauty of the sky
And all beneath it.
The ugly stuff too.
It is ourselves who decide what is beautiful
And what is but a scar on the landscape.

It’s a shame that we are here
For such a fleeting moment
In the wider scope of things:
This eternity.
So we must pass the baton on
To the next generation.

Our only hope is that the children
Will love the world
Better than we have done.

Paul Butters

© PB 30\5\2023.