Perceptible Increments

I watch the shadow cast from my apartment
descend with the rising sun in barely perceptible increments
notable to no one but me and wonder how many more
notable things have I missed simply because they move
too slowly or that I lack the right perspective.

What if I could observe the Earth suspended in space
and watch it move in grace like a blue goddess
against a sea of stars?

What if I could see the Earth wake up and breathe
as spring comes to the Northern Hemisphere
with a growing carpet of green?

What if I could be there through every epoch and era
to witness the slow progression of life unfold
in rapid motion on a hundred screens at once,
only to see them one by one go blank
in the Sixth Great Mass Extinction?

What if I could watch the Sahara sands creep southward
consuming the rainforests and farms of Africa
as a hungry tide of humanity spreads northward?

What if I could watch the oceans rise and swallow
one island nation after another until they
lap on the shores of Times Square and the Thames?

What if I could watch the mountain glaciers retreat,
in barely perceptible increments, as they solemnly
ascend the slopes into thin air?