The Appearance Of Life

S. Kilbey

Appears On:

The Appearance Of Life

Narration (unofficial)

life first appeared on this planet as we know it
on a tuesday afternoon several hundred years ago
arriving via the post from outer space
life was a brand new product
life was guaranteed to live
life was precious
life was everywhere
life forced itself into strange new shapes and cavorted before the camera
life grew fins and gills
life developed wings and snouts
life grew faster and quicker
life grew hungry and ate other life
life had to figure out a way to outrun itself
life was essentially nasty even in cozy places
life always had another surprise up its sleeve
life could always make even the biggest whale feel real small
life interpenetrated earth, the two were inseparable
life in the ether
life in the air
life in the teeming waters
life in the solid ground
look under a rock and there is life
life was all confused about what it wanted to do
some cells said "let's split up"
some said "no, let's stick together
come on, come on, let's stick together"
some life became fox
some life became rabbit
some life became man
a man appointed himself the observer and the explainer of life
life now had a protégé
and he got busy naming things and sorting it all out
a talking serpent with legs talked someone into eating some fruity fruit
and we got kicked out of the garden
lest we knew everything
man decided to bark up another tree
and we invented biology
the study of life
life was now studying itself via biology
but it couldn't agree on how it had appeared here in the first place
some said god
some said bang
some said primeval pool with no diving boards
some said i think therefore i am
some said i think about you all the time
but that was in a song and has no relevance here
but life exist on many levels
and life appeared on many levels
and life needs to be explained on many levels
and it is a very human thing to do
to look for reasons and beginnings and ends
why should things have a reason or a rhyme
if god won't appear in your test tube does that mean he doesn't exist?
is there life after death on other planets?
is there a life that never dies?
how many lives will i live within life?
i wonder about the slender silver thread that anchors our spirit to our body
i think about the disappearance of life
i think about a world
i think about a world without trees
without rain
without birds
without flowers
without sound
without end
lifeless
abandoned
and then one day accidentally mucking around with a roller and some gouache paint
i did this painting
and i called it
in defiance of those thoughts
the appearance of life