Evolution
by NPSAS Poet Laureate,
Terry Jacobson

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Is there a place
for the gentle
to survive or better yet
thrive
in this fast paced
aggressive society?
Or are we the dinosaurs
of this age,
unwilling or unable
to adapt to the
competitive mode,
thus doomed to extinction
except in a few rare
communities where
the philosophical climate
nurtures gentleness?
Is there any chance
in this age of discovery
of the finite resource limits
that a gentler approach
to land and life
might offer
meaning and fulfillment
and a fairer distribution
of life's necessities
than survival of the fittest
competition does?
Who has been served
by all this competition?
The land? the animals?
communities? God?
Is there any way
for a gentler society
to evolve from
all of this?
We must each
make choices.

T.J. 6/4/97