Man Still Is Just Man Poem by Gert Strydom

When man mastered
the horse and chariot,
and later build cars
to drive over the earth
it made him no god
over it
and still he lacked
the knowledge
of how to make
out of nothing and a void
sand, pebbles and rock.

When man felled a tree
and build a boat
to float on the river
and the sea
and later constructed ships
and submarines
and mastered the art of sailing
he still was just man
and storms, huge waves
and water could still kill him.

When man mastered the art
of flying by machines
and could travel in the sky,
planes could still dropp and crash
and man was still bound
by the laws of nature.

When man mastered fire, steam, fuel,
electricity and nuclear power
and could harness it
at his choice
and reached into space,
he still stayed human
and a spec in the universe.