December 1999, New Year's Eve was approaching and I thought of the dawning of a new century and a new millenium. This poem was in part inspired by the first pictures of the earth taken from space. In the simplest possible terms  Making or Breaking sets out the choice before each of us.

MAKING OR BREAKING

We inherit the world,
the whole of history,
our place on earth,
our place in time,
our fortune, good or bad,
pure chance.

Now,
in one picture,
we see our entire planet:
one world,
one race,
one future,
bound together
for the first time.

Ours
for the breaking

or making.

David Roberts

12 December 1999

Copyright © 1999 David Roberts

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