"On Death, without Exaggeration" by Wislawa Szymborska:
Oh, it has its triumphs,
but look at its countless defeats,
missed blows,
and repeat attempts!Sometimes it isn't strong enough
to swat a fly from the air.
Many are the caterpillars
that have outcrawled it.All those bulbs, pods,
tentacles, fins, tracheae,
nuptial plumage, and winter fur
show that it has fallen behind
with its halfhearted work.Ill will won't help
and even our lending a hand with wars and coups d'etat
is so far not enough.Hearts beat inside eggs.
Babies' skeletons grow.
Seeds, hard at work, sprout their first tiny pair of leaves
and sometimes even tall trees fall away.Whoever claims that it's omnipotent
is himself living proof
that it's not.
Continued here.
(Video: Anna Franz injected ink into the yolk sac artery of a 72 hour-old chick embryo to visualize the beating heart and the vasculature, winning the Nikon Small World contest this year. She described the video, "This image/movie gives the viewer the opportunity to observe a biological process as it is happening and gives an overview of how the blood system works. The films also demonstrates beauty in simplicity; what could be more simple than an egg?")
The Dish 