Eternal Being Poem by S. R. Lavin

Glimpsing through the laurel and lilies
I catch sight of four women playing tennis
in the heat of a summer day.
The scene recalls to mind
the theory
that human beings
evolved from apes.

These are the first steps we take
toward each other, to be generous -
to be willing to give, and forgive;
to this extent, unlike the animals,
we express divine nature in word,
passing on the hope
that who we are
extends
beyond the heavens
and Time.

How is it we apprehend eternal being in us?
How is it we see the likeness
of the one who made us
in each other?

When was it apes learned to swim, cracked jokes
and turned to speculations about the nature of infinity,
conjuring tales of stones and how they became stones?

Is it only possible to see God with a pure heart?