The sky is not done...

The sky is not done with us,

though we thought we were done with the sky,

had it all wrapped up in a tidy package—

You buy it in the local department store,

or buy it direct from the Millennium catalogue.

But a bird is twittering above our heads,

Not finished! Not finished!

And the clouds are plotting surprises for us.

In the ocean there is a dolphin who knows

how to make the proper adjustment,

but the CEO didn’t think it was necessary.

We thought the media would have reported it,

but an Angel reported it.

We thought the government should have warned us,

but the tiny plankton did.

We thought the military was prepared,

but they strategized the wrong targets.

We thought the courts had taken care of it,

but the soil had all the facts.

We thought the laws protected us,

but we were fooled by that one—

The very air we breathe protected us.

We thought the road map was accurate,

but the meandering stream proved to be more accurate.

We thought the doctors knew what to do,

but the insects sure knew what to do.

We thought the computer had it all figured out,

but a moment’s pause could have figured it out.

We thought it was worth 1500 dollars, at least,

but it was worth two blinks of an eye.

We thought it came as a nicely-boxed present,

but it came in a strangely-marked field.

We thought the resume should have been enough,

but then the butterflies appeared...

Some bird is twittering from the topmost branch,

Not finished! Not finished!

Go down to the sea and the tide repeats,

Listen! Listen!

The tide is such an insistent thing,

never tires, so gentle, so strong...

And some are still saying, We have it all wrapped up!

We can market it now.

But the sand on the beach doesn’t think so.

Listen! Listen!

Not finished! Not finished!

We were so proud of our cesium clock,

but the planets still tell better time—

Not finished! Not finished!

It is after nine, too late to buy that CD.

How would you like to be

the last one to—

Whatever you think,

better think again.

The sky is not done with us—

With the sky, we are not...

Not finished! Not finished!

January 2000