11-17-2023, 02:04 PM
No disaster is entirely
unnatural. Physics bends the bridge,
chemistry snaps the steel, and biology
led the engineer to cut
corners in the first place. Likewise,
all disasters have some man or woman
play their part. A comet
strikes another, a cyclone whirls
where no ship sails, a new volcano spits
in the middle of Siberia: who but fools
would cower at these signs? Such distinctions
are the only truly artificial
thing about disasters, like the poet
willy-nilly breaking lines---
Where, then, is the sting of death,
the logic backing fear?
unnatural. Physics bends the bridge,
chemistry snaps the steel, and biology
led the engineer to cut
corners in the first place. Likewise,
all disasters have some man or woman
play their part. A comet
strikes another, a cyclone whirls
where no ship sails, a new volcano spits
in the middle of Siberia: who but fools
would cower at these signs? Such distinctions
are the only truly artificial
thing about disasters, like the poet
willy-nilly breaking lines---
Where, then, is the sting of death,
the logic backing fear?