DNA

Cells cleft and pared to their rudiments,
To double helix, the spiralling chain
Of life. Protein fragments whose elements
Comprise the mould to shape and pre-ordain
The traits of man. In such diminutive
Building blocks of regular minute strands
Began, despite the odds, man’s fight to live,
To triumph and evolve and take his stand
Beneath the sun. But when that light first fell
On silent seas girt by a copper sky,
Transparent creatures with a single cell
Would then decree if man should live or die.
On them the balance of survival hung
In clouded oceans when the world was young.

Ann Mary Montgomery ©

I found this poem by my mum while going through some old backup CDs.