Adagio for Pots & Pans

Charles Darwin, 1872 In the reptile house at the London Zoo Taunting the poison snakes in the cage below He knows he's safe here on his side of the window But something deep in his brain, in his animal past Makes him flinch every time the adder strikes the glass Charles Darwin points a keychain flashlight Up to the stars, to the endlessness of night He wonders if some space-bound pilgrim Will catch the light and send it winking back at him Or will his light just quietly disperse At the infinite ends of the universe? Oh oh, a light, a lonely lonely light Oh oh, shine a light, a lonely lonely light, oh A man's idea becomes the spark, Becomes the light that shatters the dark The breath between the tick and tock, Between what is and what is not Where the shadows move in and out Between the certainty and the doubt Oh oh, a light, a lonely lonely light Oh oh, shine a light, a lonely lonely light, oh Charles Darwin at the kitchen sink Washing dishes, he's got time to think He thinks: How strange, that of all the things he's done Some will disappear and some live on and on and on He takes a spoon in his withered hand Plays an adagio for pots and pans