Swirling clouds of ice and rock
Pulling into their own gravity
Forming Earth in the cosmos
Billions of eons ago.
Earth’s water, her rocks,
Are older than herself
Existed in another form
Before she came to be.
And I too am made of parts that
Are older than I.
These molecules of carbon and water
That form my being
Existed before I did.
Will exist still when I am gone.
I will ride on the air,
Wash down in the rain.
Soak into the soil
Home to worms,
Stash for the squirrels’ acorns
Feel roots nudge through me.
Rising through stem and leaf,
Carried off by a bee
Distilled into honey
How long before those molecules That used to be me are
Human again?
Perhaps some already are.
Perhaps some never will be.
I am ancient and new.
I am infinite.