Back before the dawn of science
Mankind saw through different prisms
Attempting then to understand
Recurrent cataclysms
They cast their eyes to heaven
And they figured out the odds
Hoping for a method
To appease their God or gods
They knew that life was fragile
And they felt how weak the flesh is
Which they sung in songs of shamans
Or in tales like Gilgamesh’s
We thought that we were punished
And subject to God’s wrath
When some sacred indiscretion
Put us in the cyclone’s path
Then by diligent experiment
And careful observation
Our spirits were enlightened
And we made the affirmation
That it wasn’t God but nature
Forming how the typhoon spins
And a torrent was unholy
But not punishment for sins
Flash forward to flash flooding
Or to heatwaves and to droughts
Is it science or religion
That you hear behind the shouts?
If we’d only spent more money
If we’d only passed that bill
If we’d just placate the planet
There would be no heat or chill
So go erect and altar
Pen some prayers and learn them
Bring your rights as offerings
But for heaven’s sake, don’t burn them
The motive may be different
But the message is the same
If you didn’t buy a Tesla
Then, my friend, you are to blame
