Dominion
(Preface to Evergreen)
I
look down and see a tiny ant, perhaps a baby,
no more than a few grains of sand in length.
It is moving along on a path it has set, determined,
unaware that another creature could be so immense and so close.
Without thinking I press it against my index finger.
Without a sound I end its life.
Gone is its destiny, for what it's worth to me, extinguished,
not even an impact on my skin, then a rinse.
How fortunate I am not to be bound to the footsteps of giants,
not to be fated by broader forces beyond my control.
Then, after a moment's reflection, it becomes uncomfortably clear.
That brutal end to a small, purposeful life could have been my own.
And I think, my God, what have I done?
What have I become?
