What is this thing called life? I believe That the earth and the stars too, and the whole glittering universe, and rocks on the mountains have life, Only we do not call it so--I speak of the life That oxidizes fats and proteins and carbo- Hydrates to live on, and from that chemical energy Makes pleasure and pain, wonder, love, adoration, hatred and terror: how do these things grow From a chemical reaction? I think they were here already, I think the rocks And the earth and the other planets, and the stars and the galaxies have their various consciousness, all things are conscious; But the nerves of an animal, the nerves and brain Bring it to focus; the nerves and brain are like a burning-glass To concentrate the heat and make it catch fire: It seems to us martyrs hotter than the blazing hearth From which it came. So we scream and laugh, clamorous animals Born howling to die groaning: the old stones in the dooryard Prefer silence; but those and all things have their own awareness, As the cells of a man have; they feel and feed and influence each other, each unto all, Like the cells of a man's body making one being, They make one being, one consciousness, one life, one God.
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Really appreciate and enjoy this poem. ✨ Jeffers is one of my favorite poets and it was
so great to see this poem here this morning; thank you for sharing. For anyone interested in exploring more about him, his work, his life etc., a visit to his house in Carmel, CA is truly magical stuff. www.Torhouse.org
I love this poem and I would be pleased to add that in the immeasurable silence of the universe, where stars and stones whisper alike, lies a deep, painful consciousness hidden, reflecting both awe and the transience of life in the infinite expanse of our existence.