Nothing can spring to life from nothing—Erasmus Darwin’s
Temple of Nature echoed after his death in Charles’ young ear:
and once you grant we’ve all descended from and form
one living filament o​f common ancestry the only question is how—
competition and sexual selection, said Erasmus;
isolation and natural fitness, added Charles, visiting
island after island in the Galapagos. Stardust,
sang Joni Mitchell, and now we find comets’ amino acids,
add niche availability, dismiss the argument of the watchmaker’s
design. Though we’re still a little uneasy about that first big bang.

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Originally appeared in One Hundred White Pelicans (Tebot Bach, 2013), copyright © 2013 by Robin Chapman.