and yet, god made no such comforting provisions but we fare as well we could in this frigid world, but who knows with the caps melting, we might just get to dip our feet, welcoming to or not and good thing humans and pups know how to swim, otherwise how would Isles be populated and not remain lonely despite the profuse palms.

This image may be unsettling, but the fact that mankind seems to play and experiment with matters beyond their understanding seems more than foolish. The un-doing of man will more than likely be due to man --and though we may momentarily revel in the fact that we are self-made quasi-gods, we should never forget that we never created life. We just corrupted it. Made it different. A variable from the original plan. Are we creating our replacements, or our slaves? It makes no difference. By twisting the design, we attempt to usurp god. We all fall from the heavens as lightning, and become inhabitants in the lake of fire... only then will we realize that this isn't hell. Rather it is the Persian Gulf and we are through children in the abyss to satisfy the gods. Sorry, I rambled. Great read.

Hmm, I was not expecting that visual. I do agree though, with human's abitions to act the "god character", from the miniscule to great measures. We think we can do whatever we want, and combine anything to suit our needs.. to survive longer, or weed out the lesser. Or maybe just for the sake of obtaining power, no matter how disturbing or perverted. A part of the human condition--this fascination to create in the midst of destructing ourselves in the process. Interesting read Rula.

Truly disturbing picture; I'd say more a combination of dog and man rather than monkey; a glimpse at our future? Echoes of David Bowie's Diamond Dogs album cover. As for the poem, I'd say a respectable attempt at reflecting the image, with still some room for improvement/growth as time progresses.

wow is right. this imagery is extremely disturbing, yes mankind has been trying to play god for sometime now. sometimes its good and sometimes it isn't...but your poem is brilliant and that picture is freaking me out lol

great read...perfect flow...wonderful poem rula

The so called technological evolution is what makes us believe that we have evolved while keeping the potential savage inside, clothed by the product of so called development. Clothed, but not evolved despite the claim of our attainment of invisible heights on this evolutionary scale. The development (this word sounds so paradoxical in this context) of arms of mass destruction, development in the name of creating and expanding concrete jungles that disrupt the very essence of ecological balance, and evolving technologies to procreate clones of every living beings in the name of advancement are just few examples. This picture, as I see it, is one of the examples of this ugly face of pathological evolution even if this is just a blue print of what is in the offing and not a real creation of an ugly mind. There is nothing to feel scared at or feel disturbed by in this picture since the concept of the external beauty is the conditioning of our mind, but what is disturbing and disgusting is the whole idea behind this picture that is pathological as a matter of fact. The sensitivity of Rula Shin seems to be troubled by this picture as she claimed and rightly questioned 'should we'? Yes, my question too is 'should we'? She has so nicely presented this terror of this pathological evolution in the following lines-" borrowed principles of creation, coercing the divine breath of Nature into a semblance of morbid life'. Yes, we 'should not' interfere with what is nature’s job. It would have been better if this potential savage would have evolved technologies that evolve us from within rather than projecting this savage, clothed in the product of the so called technological evolution. This picture followed by Rula Shin's poem depicts this savage in no uncertain terms.

The picture was very disturbing. Even more disturbing is the fact that with the existing technology, this fictional image could become a reality. There is a fine line between science for the benefit of humanity and science just for science's sake. The latter holds nothing sacred, and it is the innocent who suffer because of it. This was well-written.

wow, amazingly written piece with an appropriately disturbing, yet oddly entertaining picture to go with.

I guess I'm somewhat tardy in commenting on this...normally (whatever that entails), I don't relate to poetry being accompanied by pictures (the preconception thing), but this one serves to complement the piece - the background infers that this representation is not only accepted, but also subconsciously assimilated by those present - it's 'business as usual', and though we are all merely passing through on a mundane carpet of self-obsessive channelled viewing. Perhaps... :>

I've seen this picture of this sculpture before, and yes it was disturbing. But now that I read your poem, you have added so much to the sculpture. Your deep contemplation explores all the disturbing aspects of the "if" in "if this creature existed". Quite unexpected, surprising poem written about a surprising image.