Subterranean Bacteria

The resilience of life;
the inventiveness of life;
life deep in a cave.

In the cave’s most arid recesses,

deprived of sunlight,
deprived of water,
a garden of bacteria grows.

The bacteria thrive

on harsh mineral geological
formations, fending off
other life forms
that would prey on them,
attesting to bacteria’s
remarkable powers of survival.

Try as you might to kill them

bacteria are programmed to endure;

bacteria are programmed to outwit
anti-biotic medicines.

Anti-biotic resistance

emerged millions of years before
anti-biotic medicines
were used.

It’s clear that humans

will always have to contend
with anti-biotic resistance.

© 2012 Catherine Giordano

Just like the Martians in H.G. Wells story, The War of the Worlds, humans may one day be wiped out by bacteria.