With every century

Our eyes on the universe have been opened anew

We are witness

To the very brink of time and space

We must ask ourselves

We who are so proud of our accomplishments

What is our place in the cosmic perspective of life?

The exploration of the cosmos

Is a voyage of self discovery

As long as there have been humans

We have searched for our place in the cosmos

Are there things about the universe

That will be forever beyond our grasp?

Are there things about the universe that are ungraspable?

One of the great revelations of space exploration

Is the image of the earth

Finite and lonely

Bearing the entire human species

Through the oceans of space and time

Matter flows from place to place

And momentarily comes together to be you

Some people find that thought disturbing

I find the reality thrilling

As the ancient mythmakers knew

We're children equally of the earth and the sky

In our tenure on this planet

We've accumulated dangerous evolutionary baggage

We've also acquired compassion for others

Love for our children

And a great soaring passionate intelligence

The clear tools for our continued survival

We must ask ourselves

We who are so proud of our accomplishments

What is our place in the cosmic perspective of life?

We could be in the middle

Of an inter-galactic conversation

And we wouldn't even know

Are there things about the universe

That will be forever beyond our grasp?

Are there things about the universe that are ungraspable?

One of the great revelations of space exploration

Is the image of the earth

Finite and lonely

Bearing the entire human species

Through the oceans of space and time

Matter flows from place to place

And momentarily comes together to be you

Some people find that thought disturbing

I find the reality thrilling

We've begun at last

To wonder about our origins

Star stuff contemplating the stars

Tracing that long path

Our obligation to survive and flourish

Is owed not just to ourselves

But also to that cosmos

Ancient and vast

From which we spring

One of the great revelations of space exploration

Is the image of the earth

Finite and lonely

Bearing the entire human species

Through the oceans of space and time

Matter flows from place to place

And momentarily comes together to be you

Some people find that thought disturbing

I find the reality thrilling

Think of how many stars and planets

And kinds of life there may be

In this vast and awesome universe

With every century

Our eyes on the universe have been opened anew

We are witness

To the very brink of time and space