All Quotes By Tag: Geology

“The strata of time will usually be buried above the foundation of bedrock.”

“Sunrise, Grand Canyon We stand on the edge, the fallInto depth, the ascentOf light revelatory, the canyon walls movingUp out ofShadow, litColors of the layers cuttingDown through darkness, sunrise as itPasses aPrecipitate of the river, its burnt tangerineFlare brief, jaggedBleeding above the far rim for a splitSecond I have imaginedYou here with me, watching day’s onslaught Standing in your bones-they seemImplied in the record almostBy chance- fossil remains heldIn abundance in the walls, exposedBy freeze and thaw, beautiful like a theory statingWho we are isCarried forward by the xChromosome down the matrilineal lineRecessive and riverine, you likeMe aberrant and bittersweet…Riding the highColorado Plateau as the opposingContinental plates force it overA mile upward without buckling, smoothTensed, muscular fundament, your bonesYet to be wrapped around mine-This will come later, when I returnTo your place and time…The geologic cross section Of the canyonDroppingFrom where I stand, hundreds millions of shades of terra cotta, of copperManganese and rust, the many varieties of stone-Silt, sand, and slate, even “greenRiver rock…”my body voicing its immenseGenetic imperatives, human geology falling awayInto aDepth i am still unprepared forThe canyon cutting down to The great unconformity, a layer So named by the lack Of any fossil evidence to hypothesizeAbout and date suchA remote time by, at last no possibleRetrospective certainties…John Barton”

“In your handsThe dog, the donkey, surely they know They are alive.Who would argue otherwise?But now, after years of consideration, I am getting beyond that.What about the sunflowers? What about The tulips, and the pines?Listen, all you have to do is start and There’ll be no stopping.What about mountains? What about water Slipping over rocks?And speaking of stones, what about The little ones you can Hold in your hands, their heartbeats So secret, so hidden it may take yearsBefore, finally, you hear them?”

“If the people of Europe had known as much of astronomy and geology when the bible was introduced among them, as they do now, there never could have been one believer in the doctrine of inspiration. If the writers of the various parts of the bible had known as much about the sciences as is now known by every intelligent man, the book never could have been written. It was produced by ignorance, and has been believed and defended by its author. It has lost power in the proportion that man has gained knowledge. A few years ago, this book was appealed to in the settlement of all scientific questions; but now, even the clergy confess that in such matters, it has ceased to speak with the voice of authority. For the establishment of facts, the word of man is now considered far better than the word of God. In the world of science, Jehovah was superseded by Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler. All that God told Moses, admitting the entire account to be true, is dust and ashes compared to the discoveries of Descartes, Laplace, and Humboldt. In matters of fact, the bible has ceased to be regarded as a standard. Science has succeeded in breaking the chains of theology. A few years ago, Science endeavored to show that it was not inconsistent with the bible. The tables have been turned, and now, Religion is endeavoring to prove that the bible is not inconsistent with Science. The standard has been changed.”

“Amber is full of life & knowledge.”