There is no natural taxonomy
that is internally consistent, no
consistent organizing scheme that fits
the world that is. All of your clever rules,
all of the frameworks on which you hang
your understanding of this fractal world
fall short, and do so unpredictably.
Set down a rule and life will counter it.
Some snakes have legs. Mushrooms are animals.
Heat makes the desert cold. As soon as you
pin down a thing, it moves, resists the box
you’ve placed it in, and all your bright theories
regarding the inevitable shape
of this bright universe break into shards.

1. 
   Chris Clarke 2010 05 22 at 10:47:09 pm

   Note: “mushrooms are animals” is poetic license. More accurately, fungi and animals are two large groups which, with a couple other groups of microorganisms more closely related to animals than fungi, make up the Opisthokonts. In turn, Opisthokonts and Ameoebozoa make up the group Unikonts, which is thought to be a sister group to the Archaeplastida a.k.a. Plantae, which group includes green plants (including green algae) and red algae.

   But that didn’t scan quite so well.

2. 
   Jan 2010 05 23 at 5:27:10 am

   Great wisdom, Chris. I love it.

3. 
   eric 2010 05 23 at 5:27:07 pm

   Building the box is the fun part. Ask a woodworker if he loves the project or the furniture more.

   (Not that anyone is in danger of understanding the totality of the natural world anytime soon.)

4. 
   Bill 2010 05 24 at 5:00:37 am

   Glad you cleared up the artistic license issue on fungi!  I was really wondering what your were talking about.  Very, very thought provoking sonnet.

   Bill www.wildramblings.com

5. 
   Bill 2010 05 24 at 5:01:00 am

   Glad you cleared up the artistic license issue on fungi!  I was really wondering what your were talking about.  Very, very thought provoking sonnet.

   Bill www.wildramblings.com

6. 
   James 2010 05 25 at 7:32:44 am

   I love that poetic license you took, though I’m glad you saved me from going off to research the veracity of the mushrooms are animals statement :) Though I might have missed something.