Evolutionary Prayer

We have a long history 
and you know it all.
From week one something in us
grasping forbidden things,
walking away from others.
Humanity or our ancestors 
ranging for food, shelter, warmth.
Taking it where we could find it,
wresting it away from others.
Continent by continent  
we’ve shaped the world in our image.
Ridding our environment 
of threats from tooth and claw,
we’ve become top dog on the food chain.
We came, we saw, we conquered,
leaving only names behind:
mastodon, cave bear, sabre tooth tiger.
The species have gone, have gone, have gone
and still we remain.
Rulers on a planet of riches
made poorer by our presence.
Hear our late in life lament for all this.
Reach inside us, and change us fundamentally.
Give us a broader vision
for ourselves as earthlings,
one with every other creature.
This great shift, our only hope,
is a revolutionary evolutionary breakthrough
that must come in time.
All our survivals depend on this.
In a universe of black holes and supernovas,
surely this too is possible.
Take us back to the garden
and breathe in us a new spirit
equal to this warring warming world.
We want a chance to eat
the fruit of the tree of life.