There is knowledge
And then there is certainty
We can lightly know a fact
It sits in mind, untroubled and untroubling,
Engendering no warmth
No strong emotion, no fear
But reality intrudes
A visceral certitude
Of consequences sure and soon
And wholly negative
Sometimes this shift
Is occasioned by events
Newsflashes from the outside world
Broadcasts from fate
And sometimes by thought
The erosion of plausible denial
The collapse of cant
Ecologists say "Extinct is forever"
Glib, tautological, as a slogan
For their very specific, very urgent cause-
They also speak a general truth
As Socrates said, philosophy's task
Is learning to die
