Life Cycle

(p)
Our journey extends back to the beginning of time itself.
The elements and molecules of which we are each constituted
Were formed in the hearts of stars, millions and billions of years ago,
From distances beyond imagination.
The iron in our blood, and every atom of material heavier than iron
Formed in the great explosions of novae and super novae
The spectacular death of stars millions of years old.

Everyone has within themselves atoms that were once part of:
Dinosaurs,
And wooly mammoths,
Socrates,
And Julius Caesar,
For the plasma pool of life from which we spring
Is a homogenous mix
Of all that has come before.

Our journey will continue for billions of years hence.

Those same elemental particles,
Every atom of our bodies,
Will see the light of a new day
Resurrected in a myriad of forms,
Some we cannot even imagine
For they have not yet evolved.


i.
From the plasma pool of life
We leap
We dance our dance
And then to sleep

From one we come
To one we go
We laugh, we cry
We change, we grow

But finally
When all is done
The Truth is this
We are but one.


ii.
There is an atom within me
That was there when the Milky Way was formed
It shimmers inside and fairly leaps for joy
When I look up at the night sky

There is an atom within me
That was there when the Sun ignited
It greets each morning
Like an old friend greets an old friend

There is an atom within me
That was there when Earth was still molten and steamy
It recognizes and respects
The ground I walk on

There is an atom within me
That was there when life first wriggled in the sea
It knows the brotherhood
Of all living things

There are atoms within each of us
That have traveled vast and dark expanses of space
They meet in happy reunion
As we pass, "strangers" on the street.

iii.
When the Sun gives up the ghost
Five billion years or so from now
Gravitationally compromised through the loss of its mass
Finally surrendering to the relentless force of its own internal furnace
What then of our angst and our tribulations?

As the Earth is boiled and seared to a cinder
What then of our thoughts?
What then of our wars?
What then of our triumphs and failures and folly?
(With nary a soul to remember and mourn.)

When expansion reaches the subatomic level
And everything that was, is cold and dark
When blessed silence finally reigns supreme
What then of our love?
Oh that... will still remain.

(ps)
Every blade of grass,
Every star,
Every butterfly wing,
Every smile,
Every tear,
Every snowflake,
Every thought...
Has existed since the dawn of time
And can never truly be lost.

We are the Universe:
Always have been...
Always will be.