Not even Adam gave a name
to every insect there has been,
the myriad species in the frame
the naked eye has ever seen:
not only butterflies and bees
or glinting wings of dragonflies,
but creeping things in galaxies
of less than microscopic size.
We marvel at one beetle's glow,
a moth half-hidden on a tree,
while far beyond our sight, we know,
their numbers touch infinity.
The cycle of their death and birth,
the food-chain and the parasite -
their interwoven life on earth
saves all that's green from endless night.
In hope of Eden's good restored
by our superb Creator-king
and marvellously skilful Lord
beyond all science, let us sing
in faith to see that pledge fulfilled
in Christ, on one amazing dawn,
as poison cleansed, infection healed,
unspoiled delight in worlds reborn.
Tune: FABRE (John Crothers)
Christopher Idle b.1938
© Christopher Idle/ admin. The Jubilate Group
8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
