I could marvel at how our species
Has learned that some things
Are in fact so utterly important
As to warrant the great labor and expense
Of building a lighthouse to help the captains
Find their way without incident―
But it is not in fact our whole species
That has learned this,
For few are the captains navigating the ships,
And fewer still, the magnates filling them―
And who else but them would ever
Have need to think of it?
Even so, there it stands―
Its light shining over the heads of those
Who, having no investment in the matter,
Give little thought to why anybody would build
So grand monument to how things are.
For what have they got
That is so worth getting right the first time?
