The Beginning of Life - June 25 2025

 

The Beginning of Life

June 25 2025

I will leave no descendants.

I suppose, in a Darwinian sense, a failed life

a biological

dead end.

Even a betrayal

of all who came before.

Evolution depends

on survival and reproduction.

I managed the first, as far as it goes;

a full enough life

almost fully done

But I failed to breed

have not seeded the earth.

My genes

will not be tested for fitness

by whatever contingencies

life comes up with.

Have I had influence?

Have I left a legacy

passed my birthright on?

Will I be read

or even remembered,

perhaps granted just a fleeting thought?

Of course, these are questions everyone asks

hoping the answer is yes

but knowing better.

Because back as little as 2 generations

and we’ve already lost track;

the great grandfathers

we only know

by one formal photograph

in grainy black and white,

if even that,

the countless forbears

who gave us their name

but left no trace.

So no children to disappoint me, or make me proud.

No children to fear for

or care about.

No minds to mold,

and no surprises

when a child comes out as who they are

already formed.

Because in nature

there are no blank slates.

And because the engine of change

is mistakes;

garbled DNA,

a snake in the grass,

failure to navigate

social bonds.

But mine will remain untested;

evolution

will be left for the rest to decide.

I am the end of a line

that stretches all the way back

to the beginning of life,

an unbroken line

until now;

for 4 billion years, survival

until I let them down.