Reflections on Human D/evolution

Flight of the Starlings / Short Film Showcase. Click on image to watch this stunning short documentary.

Can a species lose their senses? De-evolve? Like, could humans lose their sense of smell?

I was thinking about this the other day while writing a poem about communication and connection in our flash poetry session during our IPCC 2021 GREEN SHABBAT MURMURATION 0821 2021.

I was thinking about ​the things we gain and lose through our virtual screen encounters. We see and hear each other, but have we lost the fragrance of friendship? How does that alter our relationships?

And then COVID, of course, can erase our sense of taste and smell, perhaps permanently. I found the narrative/metaphorical resonance between these two interesting on a story level, especially as I continue to think about how COVID may be a strategic systems response to human planetary impact and how it may play as an actor in our evolution. (You can read about my thoughts on COVID and evolution here: The Empathy of Birds: Lessons from Pacha Mama in the Face of Despair.)

We are losing our senses.

Given the geopolitical chaos that we witness daily on screen, we might argue that WE HAVE ALREADY LOST OUR SENSES.

What does this mean? What are the ramifications of cutting off our multi sensory communication systems that allow us to connect with each other, to understand each other, to understand other creatures, to connect and interact with the pulsing shimmering world?

AND OF COURSE THE BIG QUESTION--what does it mean for HUMANS to evolve? To DE VOLVE?

So here is my poem:

A POEM ABOUT CONNECTION

I can hear the swirl of the birds
the whir of their wings
and then, their sharp
chattering call. 

I am watching
a murmuration.

ON SCREEN

I am not
standing
in that field.

They tell me
the smell of the birds
is overwhelming

That a murmuration 
is not only the glory
of the visual dance

​but the SOUND

and the sudden rush
of wind 
as the birds
turn in the air

and then
the SMELL.

Our senses 
provide pathways
of connection

And here,
during this global pandemic 
I find that I see loved ones
hear loved ones

through the flat 
square of the screen.

But their scent?
Their smell?

I have no idea. 

I don't remember
the fragrance
of a friendship.

Smell holds MEMORY. 

Our brain stores
knowledge 
in banks

triggered
keyed

through scent. 

I am trying to train
my children
to use their nose.

They left the oven on.

Do you smell it?
I ask,

Do you smell
the heat?

I wonder how sharp 
their noses will become
to the sharp scent
of heat.

The burning forest
the melting asphalt
the stench of the water
at the edge of the beach.