humanity | rebekahjmarshall

(Poem 130 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/0yYZ6p

“Vengeance is mine,” sayeth Ceasar, until his
apemanity kicks in and he is able to be better
than human and allow mercy to unfold naturally.
Who gets to determine the value of a life on
this rock hurtling through space we call home?
Does intellect trump simple existence or one
form of communication imply worth over another?
Is birdsong less a language than human speech
or an elephant’s rumble less valid than words?
Someone I know once said their life would not
be affected by animals going extinct and it
made me sad because I believe the tiny pieces
of our humanity that perish with each species
we forget to save hasten our own souls’ decay.

@Home Studio (after watching War for the Planet of the Apes at Greg’s house with Greg and his family, Debbie, and Celinda on 5/18/24) – 130^th poem of the year

Matt Reeves et al., War for the Planet of the Apes. Los Angeles, CA, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2017.

Runner ups for the War of Apes photos to accompany my poem:

(Poem 125 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

https://images.app.goo.gl/6BLWxqvW9d4QE3KFA

https://images.app.goo.gl/ahg7Hp6fL6rBMCc68

There always seems to be someone who hates,
whose resentment fills their soul until nothing
else can fit and the surrounding world must pay.
Everyone who endures suffering must decide
whether to heal or hurt, a weighty choice, for it
affects the fate of your trajectory henceforward.
In matters of the heart, as in matters of state,
humanity should remain centered in our judgment,
and the resulting actions must be measured
carefully to create the least harm to all involved.

@The Writing Barn: Buddha Hall (after watching Dawn of the Planet of the Apes at Greg’s house with Greg and his family, Debbie, Celinda, and David on 5/4/24) – 125^th poem of the year

Reeves, Matt, et al. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 20th Century Fox, 2014.