Build it again

Dismantle the world

and build it again,

and if you can, feel

your ancestors’ pain —

the famine, the disease,

the discomfort, the unease,

of the caveman, unlettered,

unsure, unaware, unprepared,

running hither and thither,

clueless and in vain.

And then keep on adding,

layer by layer, one evolution

at a time — the Stone Age,

the Bronze Age, the Iron Age,

the Industrial Revolution,

the Information Age —

while keeping count

of each leap’s gain.

Do this a few times,

each time feeling a bit more,

and you will understand

who has created,

who has built this world —

what is the truth,

what is the myth,

what to leave

and what to hold on,

who is progressive,

who is crazy,

who is a cheat,

who is insane,

and who is sane.