Dire Consequences
by Michael Doyle

Back breeding and use of DNA sequence
Without thinking of possible consequences
Seems so easily at our potential expense
That I struggle to make it make any sense

Yes, what we have lost was wonderful
Almost all of it has been something beautiful
And true enough, man brought much adversity
That we almost owe it to restore biodiversity

Still, we must think of the DNA degradation
As we unleash beasts and disease on our nation
It isn't just a shout into a fearful dark
To think about results like Jurassic Park

The spirit of God will move across the face
As we revive not only our intentions but the trace
Of our misunderstood and  unintended consequences
Iconic as the aspirations, what will be our recompense

Maybe we could focus on habitat loss and poaching
Taking greater care instead of habitually encroaching
As the world endures man and nature's climate change
We might protect and ease the way the world rearranges

Still, while man thinks of himself as the conservator
What happens when we are no longer the apex predator?
Planetary health is a subject of fantastic complexity
Let alone the vast considerations of balanced diversity

Will unintended germs and bacteria be part of innovation
In this new chapter of mankind's attempt at conservation?
Without pessimism, all the science, ethics, and the environment
Suggests a fragile bridge between what we get and what we meant

Still, as we look on the gray wolves turned into the dire
Approaching as we are, a border without any guard wire
Last seen 10,000 years ago, it headlines a resurrection story
That is filled with wonder, beauty, and approaches glory

We must pause and consider the implied toolkit of technology
That has come knocking at the door of biology and theology
The redesign of life and ecosystems is a synthetic biology
In which differences and sameness are more than symbology

It is one thing to play with puppies, but what of fully grown
There is too much that we do not know that needs to be known
Genetic engineering at this point is merely cosmetic tweaks
And these gray wolves might have more than a few missing links

Solutions are offered to public health and agriculture 
Each nuance of this is something that we should work to nurture
Synthetic biology provides much to say about restoration
But each step requires responsibility and great explanation

Ecosystems are delicately balanced sets of interactions
Without a complete understanding of needed intersections
All of the unanswered questions have unpredictable consequences
How we proceed must depend, not on hope, but on evidence

What we have presently is an honest attempt at imitation
But nothing that close to scientific restoration
It's an experiment of well-intended progress for the dead 
That only observation will prove the test outside our heads

(c) April 11, 2025   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved