The evolution of the universe and that of life on Earth has brought consciousness to fruition in all life forms, especially in us Humans, who think and reflect on our place in the universe. Thus, consciousness, I believe, is the fragrant flower of the evolution of the universe and of life on earth. In the illustration below, I have attempted to show how we, as humans, have evolved to an awareness of our atomic origins through the rigors of science.
Video-Poem, below...
“Our Journey Through the Universe,”
Raphael-Raúl Sebaszco / 1980.
About 9 years ago, I made a video poem based on the text of my poem (below), set to original music by professional composer, Rich Fuchs.
It was selected by NASA for the Benu asteroid launch 9 years ago, with the work of other artists.
The poem has appeared in various publications and has been broadcast via satellite to 250 radio stations under a 1980 Arts and Science grant from National Public Radio.
It has been recited, accompanied by jazz bands and electronic music composers, at many poetry readings.
Since then, much in science has evolved. The Universe, when I wrote the poem, was estimated to be 15 billion years old in 1980. Between 1995 and the 2000s, with more powerful space-based measurements, scientists slowly revised the age of the Universe to 13.8 billion years.
Here is the poem recited in the video:
"Our Journey through the Universe”
___________________________________________
3. 8 billion years ago, say, physicists
that the four-and-a-half light-year-long mass
of concentrically turning,
hotly condensing
stripped electrons, protons & neutrons
in the universal emptiness
exploded in atomic hydrogen-helium fury
across the vast expanse of space....
We have been traveling ever since.
We have been 13—8 billion years on this trip.
Imagine a massive compressed gaseous atomic explosion
bursting in slow motion and infinitely propelling away
from the center of its release.
Every mass-energy particle,
Me, You, the earth, the moon, the planets, our sun, the galaxy
and the billions of galaxies moving
and mutating into other elemental forms, combinations,
and recombinations.
Atomic transformations into higher complex organizations
of hydrogen, helium, sodium & carbon.
...Trail by accident evolution?
Imagine elementary molecules gathering and forming, acids, sugars, proteins;
proteins, the building blocks of life,
creating cellular organisms where organic, regenerating,
and transmuting life first began.
Matter evolving intricately complex cellular communities,
Nature’s intelligence index is expanding.
After 13.8 billion years of trial and error evolution,
Here we are!
In every DNA staircase of a gene, the blueprint of life
finding out about itself, discovering the laws of physical truth, atomic weight, density, and its place in the elemental scheme.
13. 8 billion years ago, say physicists,
We have been traveling…ever since.
Raphael-Raúl Santiago Sebaszco / 1980