H e a r t S o n s & H e a r t D a u g h t e r s of A l l e n G i n s b e r g

N a p a l m H e a l t h S p a : R e p o r t 2 0 1 4 : A r c h i v e s E d i t i o n

ANTLER

Doting On Dust Motes

Doting on dust motes it occurs to me

the Universe began as a dot,

each of us began as a dot,

a sentence ends with a dot,

we put a dot over our small "i"

and seen from 100 feet up

we look like a dot

and in the brain of that dot

the idea

Just as there are intergalactic extraterrestrials

from other solar systems in our galaxy,

So there are extragalactic extraterrestrials

from other galaxies in our Universe,

Plus extraUniverse extraterrestrials

from other Universes simultaneous to ours,

And just as it'd be inconceivable and preposterous

for us to try to teach all we know

to an amoeba,

So it'd be inconceivable and preposterous

for intergalactic extraterrestrials

to try to teach all they know to us,

Or for extragalactic extraterrestrials

to try to teach all they know

to intergalactic extraterrestrials,

Or for extra Universe extraterrestrials

to try to teach all they know

to extragalactic extraterrestrials

When extraUniverse extraterrestrials

are as far beyond extragalactic extraterrestrials

as extragalactic extraterrestrials

are beyond intergalactic extraterrestrials

as intergalactic extraterrestrials

are beyond us

as we are beyond

an amoeba

as an amoeba is beyond

the idea

In the brain of a dot

that knows it looks like a dot

100 feet up

and knows we must dot our "i"

and end our sentence with a dot

in a Universe that began as a dot

in which each of us began as a dot

doting on dust motes it occurs to me . . . .

[Originally published in NHS 2000, http://www.poetspath.com/napalm/nhs00/antler.html.]