What is heredity but centuries
of births, deaths, journeys,
weddings, wars, surprises
and griefs?
History becomes
no more than outdated updates
of dateless orbits of the earth.
In time these turn irrelevant
or vague as honors and as vain.
Outliving Eden and its myths,
we find in space what
saves us.
Since breath has
no birthdays, I say that Genesis
begins all over every time
we breathe.
Each time I face
a mirror, I’m looking at Adam.

(Jovis Aloor/Unsplash)
Issue:
July/August 2021 [1]
Tags
Poetry [2]
Samuel Hazo, a National Book Award–finalist and former State Poet of Pennsylvania, is the author of novels, essays, and plays. His two most recent books of poetry are When Not Yet Is Now and The Next Time We Saw Paris.
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