Clear The Stage Poem by ivor or ivor.e hogg

The world was; before mankind was born
and will be when the last mans gone
There will be no left to mourn.
Who will replace us still unknown

It seems that since the world began
Dame Nature tries experiments
the latest of which seems to be man
She has established precedents.

At one time reptiles ruled the earth.
at last ashamed of what she’d wrought.
Great behemoths of giant girth
She wiped them out without a thought.

She cleared the way to try again
With creatures more intelligent
the reptile’s loss the mammals gain.
This seemed to her to represent.

A forward leap towards her goal.
Although she waited patiently
She was convinced that on the whole
too little progress she could see.

She thought maybe that the monkeys
With just a little tinkering
could be persuaded from the trees
The monkeys proved to be willing.

Monkeys evolved slowly into men
and not quite as she meant they should...
Her well laid plans had failed again
At last Dame Nature understood.


Mankind was too belligerent.
Determined to go his own sweet way.
A little too intelligent
he saw no reason to obey.

the rules Dame Nature had laid down
Rebelled against them constantly.
Convinced that he should wear the crown
Until at last reluctantly.

She thought it time to call a halt.
Another failed experiment
some inbred genetic fault.
Rendered them obsolescent.

The human race had reached their peak
and stubbornly refused to change.
Considering themselves unique.
The time had come to re arrange.

the way they thought and urgently.
They’d had their chance but lost their way
Nature reacted ruthlessly
That’s why there are no men today.

The world is peaceful once again
Without the constant battling
between opposing bands of men.
There is no sabre rattling.

I have no doubt she’ll try again
Perhaps next time she’ll get it right
with some new race replacing men
Without the warlike appetite.

The world was before mankind was born
and will be when the last man has gone
their wilfulness not to be borne.
the fault was theirs and theirs alone.

Dame nature warned them frequently
Her warnings they chose to ignore
So full of pride they could not see
That it was time to pay the score.

Extinction is the penalty
which failed experiments must pay.
This is the harsh reality
The race of man has had its day.

28-Jan-09

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