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“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin” ~ William Shakespeare, Ulysses in Troilus and Cressida
Electron microscopes can see in cells
Chained strings of DNA, so this one small,
Small, small, this tiny touch of nature yells,
Reveals the truth that right across the sprawl
Of life we all are relatives, the wren,
The rainbow lorrikeet, a Minke whale,
The cherry blossoms and the monk of Zen
Beneath them contemplating nature’s scale,
Complexities all webbed together, more
Like galaxies their depths, unnumbered, wide–
None mind-owned. We stand upon a shore
That shows us everything must coincide.
A cobra’s venom and your blood contain
Deep DNA. All kin embrace death’s stain.
~ Phillip Whidden
The restless sea–
And stabbing down towards Sado
Isle, the Milky Way.
~ Basho, translated by an unknown poet but reworked by Phillip Whidden