Teleology

Half in shadow and half in light
Is where we live most of the time
Observing the seasons carefully
Treating each fire, earthquake or flood
As if it were, a surprise.

Disturbed by our mortality
We make narratives of our lives -
Who killed whom, where and why.
And around each question
The explanations swarm, like flies.

But we are frustrated in this
By life's moral opacity.
The rich prosper, the poor die -
Burnt, diseased, starved or drowned.
We are deluded. Or are we?

Half in shadow and half in light
Our paintings and films
Express a fervent hope
Pathetic but almost sacred
That life means something, after all.