Life’s will to survive is a remarkable story.

Beating the Odds
by Michael Romani

Heat of day and cold of night
The Great Dying came with a fright
Two Hundred Fifty years ago
Nearly all life died as you might know

It's in the deserts of Karoo
That we find the ancestors of me and you
We owe all of what is normal to me and you
To that plucky, scrappy bit of few

A ring of super volcanoes exploded
And over 99% of life simply imploded
The oceans became acidic and lands dry
But, it was those scrappy few who did defy

They weren't the biggest and baddest who survived
Nor through which all life was revived
But, sleepers below the earthen ground
Like the meerkats we still have around

Now under our brilliant sun beaming
We find life again resplendently teeming
From the deepest oceans to a mile underground
Everywhere we look, we find life abounds

With all the solid punches she has taken
Mother Nature continues as though unshaken
Life always finds its path to survival
Through all extinctions there has been revival

In a myriad of shapes, sizes and ways
Life's variety has brought our diverse days
Each finding a mastered fit and place
Beating the odds and challenges of life's embrace

(c) September 17, 2019  Michael Romani
All Rights Reserved