If the Universe is vast past fathom,
our biological Earth is just a tiny bubble
in a trackless ocean of frothy void.
To journey to another star system
would take hundreds
or thousands
or millions of years.
Distance and lightspeed isolate
any small worlds where life can grow.
Even if the universe teems with bright life,
we are on our own here, in our bubble.
We sprout from this old patch of sod:
Earth is our body, our being, our birth,
our sturdy bones, our surging blood.
o
earthling
!