The Value of...Life?

[Stephen Whiteside]

The Value of…Life?


“The unexamined life is not worth living” – Plato

Koala munching gum leaves in a tree.
Wombat digging deep beneath the ground.
Kangaroo who’s bounding gracefully.
Lyrebird that’s scratching at his mound.

Cockatoo that’s ripping into fruit.
Emu racing fast across the plain.
Antechinus hiding in a boot.
Mouse that’s gorging fast on stores of grain.

Plato, he was stern, and unforgiving.
None of these small lives are worth the living.

Eagle soaring high into the sky.
Pygmy possum underneath the snow.
Saltbush clusters weathering the dry.
Currawong, and glossy, jet black crow.

Snake and spider, blue-tongue and goanna.
Butterfly or beetle, worm or grub.
Gum tree, be it stringybark, or manna.
All of this is Life. Ah, there’s the rub!

Who can say, when judging short and tall,
That Plato’s life’s worth anything at all?

© Stephen Whiteside 10.09.2013

[manfredvijars]

Great stuff Stephen, rings true (as usual),
even had me reaching for the dictionary ...

Antechinus ...
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/ ... 262428.htm

[Stephen Whiteside]

Thanks, Manfred. Methinks that little critter needs a name less Latin...

[Maureen K Clifford]

Oh I don't know Stephen - if you give an animal a grand name to live up to - then they aspire to better things.

Cute little critter ain't he?

Love your poem Stephen. - ticks a lot of boxes.

[Stephen Whiteside]

Thanks, Maureen.

[Neville Briggs]

Sir David Attenborough has done plenty of examining of animal life.

[Stephen Whiteside]

Yes.

[warooa]

What a fascinating life the little antechinus has . . . but there is one thing he likes more than hiding in a boot . . . and it also rhymes with "fruit".

Antechinus hiding in a boot.

Yet another great thought-provoker, Stephen.

Cheers, Marty

[Stephen Whiteside]

Guess he's not alone! Thanks, Marty.