And what did we inherit
From our fathers of the cave,
What did we to merit
All the riches found engraved
By hands awash in wonderment,
Awakened by the call,
Budding Michelangelos
In loincloths, painting walls.
And who of these made fire,
Which one bequeathed the wheel,
Which one rose up inspired
With culinary zeal?
Domesticating oxen,
Smelting copper, weaving cloth,
Advancing agriculture,
Making sculpture, who these brought?
And when they took their rest at night
From labors, when reposed,
With unpolluted skies above,
In lunar light enclosed,
Did ever they just lay awake
And wonder who they were,
While looking up at nature
Were their hidden passions stirred?
Rumi, Lincoln, Bach, Descartes
En route to their acclaim
All stood on shoulders, strong, engaged
In fanning future flames.
So when we take our rest at night,
Our I-tunes in our ears,
We might take pause and wonder at
Who wandered ‘cross the years.