THE SELFISH GENE AND OTHER STORIES

 

To Richard Dawkins

 

The selfish gene had built several machines.

I saw them in a large cathedral,

Listening to baroque organ music.

Two other machines were playing the organs,

High above the floor.

The cathedral was so immense

And the music was so powerful

That made the machines think about strange things

Like God, Heaven and immortality.

I wondered:

Did the selfish gene expect the machines to think about such things?

Did he expect them to think about anything at all?

Does he know what they feel?

Does he even know they have feelings?

Does he know anything?

Does he know?

Then I realised I was one of the selfish gene machines,

And I did feel a little bit sad.

But the music still sounded divine,

The music wrote three centuries ago by some other machine,

And I forgot about it all

Till I got home and wrote this poem.

I wonder if the other machines will like it.

 

Fernando Henrique de Passos