In sum*

1.
We had read, in sum:

"We are part of a whole--
the whole being Nature
the part being Man.
And we're Nature's putative avant-garde."

2.
Yet -- men have caused both
wealth and privation
freedom and repression
social order and anarchy.

Men have also caused
famine and plenty
dams and drought
both certitude and doubt.

War and peace.

3.
The most evolved part of Nature?

We needed to be reminded occasionally,
of the protracted process of change--
among men, as in Nature.

Meanwhile, we continue to wash our hands
with the blood of our brothers and sisters.






*Chapter 1, Fractured Memories