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Final Anthropic Principle

January 29, 2015

by K. V. Skene

Postulates a universe in which life will never die out 
and where knowledge will increase forever 
(Prof. Frank Tripler) 
or
When The Chickens Come Home To Roost 

Now Chicken knows and knows she knows.
She plans, acts,
Understands outsides and insides;
She mates, hates,
Scratches her existence boldly
Over the crust of the world.
Observe—she has created a universe
Perfectly evolved for herself,
For chickens.
Cock’s crow cracked her shell of awareness
calling her into tomorrow.
Cock-sure of a new day
hatched time after time
For and by
Chickens.

 

 

* Poems in the Anthropic Principle series: “Weak Anthropic Principle”,”Strong Anthropic Principle”, “Participatory Anthropic Principle”, “Final Anthropic Principle”, “Anthropic Principle Revisited”


Questions and Answers

What inspired “Final Anthropic Principles”?

The Anthropic Principle a series of five poems was conceived after reading ‘The Gaia Hypothesis’ by James Lovelock. The Final Anthropic Principle is the fourth poem in the series.

What poetic techniques did you use in “Final Anthropic Principles”?

I employed an extended metaphor to tie the series together (and because it was fun) Also slant rhyme, alliteration and an incredible amount of editing to keep it tight.

This poem “Final Anthropic Principle” originally appeared in Past, Present, Future. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature 138-139 (Autumn/Winter 1993): 89-90.

Please note that works on the Canadian Literature website may not be the final versions as they appear in the journal, as additional editing may take place between the web and print versions. If you are quoting reviews, articles, and/or poems from the Canadian Literature website, please indicate the date of access.