BayCare Phillipe Pointe February 13, 2018

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evolution by sexual selection

Some years ago, more than I remember exactly

You sent me a first valentine with the image of Charles Darwin

Cleverly captioned: “I select you, naturally!”

In a kind of conjugality of science and sentiment.

Our shared belief in evidence is important

But our compatibility is so much more complete

Like the way you laugh and are serious

Like the way you care for other people.

The years pass quickly being together

Happy with each other side by side

Spending our days doing what we like

Conversing in voices that express affection.

But all these years later it’s time to rethink that first image

Not because we doubt the premise of natural selection

And though no doubt you approved of my good health

But because my survival fitness alone was not the determinant.

The indisputable fact of natural selection is only half the story

Itself such a threat to the religionists still in denial

But Darwin’s subsequent work exploring mate selection

Notes the primacy of the female in making the pairing choice.

In humans the qualities a woman finds attractive

In appearance and language and forms of beauty

These are what matter most in the decision

When she is free from aggression and coercion.

If brute strength were the key to competition for mates

How then explain the wondrous diversity of beauty we create

Except in the way that it gently fosters consent

So I reply:  “I choose you as my heart’s desire, my love.”

You asked me if I was writing something for us

And I said, “Yes” of course

Knowing you will improve what you read

Making excellent edits.

Tarpon Springs February 12, 2018

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Sawgrass Carillon February 11, 2018

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