Poem by Elaine Parker Akin
 
Meteors and comets shoot past us daily
with near misses. Meteorites are found,
proving that some do not miss.
A larger one could strike us.
Solar flares disrupt technology,
while black holes swallow stars.
 
Yet, our planet keeps spinning on its axis,
though we’re told it was knocked a bit off kilter
by an extra-terrestrial event long ago.
 
But the most tragic of catastrophes
cannot be blamed on the universe.
It is man’s inhumanity to his fellow man.
Relentless news of it breaks our hearts
and we seem to be as helpless in stopping it
as we are to block a meteor.
 
All we can do is rise and greet the day,
say Good Morning to our neighbor and try
to make it one for him and for ourselves
.
—EPA 2024