carry your life lightly

carry your life lightly /these words are

made of stars

and so are you

no really    Exploded stars

carry your life    Beyond any imagined value

but don’t clutch it til your knuckles go white

did anyone tell you about the smallest of things?

atoms maybe    Smaller even than that    Hold it gently

like   the tiny bird’s egg you found   Pale-speckled

atom thin   Full of power   To create the impossible

it’s hard to crack an atom but if you do

you’ve got down to the smallest there is   Particles

impossible fuzz of energy   That’s all Stuff is    Matter

stuff matters

we all have baggage    Some inherit a load too soon

before we can even see over it    Others collect it

gradually as the Earth repeats its orbit    Again and

again   Around   The Big Bang    The start of literally

everything    The whole Universe   Drag it behind you

or find a way to shed some of the weight

ask about before the Big Bang    No-one really knows

exciting    Don’t worry if your knees go weird thinking

about it   They should    You might build muscles

to handle it    You might find a suitcase on wheels    Atoms

made of particles   They will always be there

Big Bang    Clumped together   Became a star

if you let them   Other people will come into your life

from time to time   And ease the load

carry your life lightly   Don’t trap it   Give it space to wobble

and if it looks like it’s getting a bit too close to the edge

tip it back again   When some stars die they explode

supernova!    Go flying    You are the one carrying it

remember   No-one else   Millions and billions of miles

Light years   Before they reach Earth    Become Earth

Carry lightly   Don’t overcompensate  Or turn too sharply

but if you keep the handbrake on you’ll never know

the joy of moving in gravity

Flying star atom   We’ll call you Carbon   No need for fear

you can swerve   You land on the ocean

dissolve   Combine with oxygen   Tiny organism

uses you to build a shell   Now  You’re inside a fish

your life lightly  Eaten by a human   Let the breeze

run through its hair  You’re inside   Breathes you out

as Carbon Dioxide   Be loved by passers by   Show it off a bit

be a perfect absorber and reflector  A tree breathes you in

Now you’re treeStuff    Cut down   Wood pulped into paper

This page    Atoms of bookStuff    From exploding stars

On the way some were in the tail of a fish   Some human eye

or puddle    Now here In your hands    So many Ten million

carbon atoms lined up across this

.

full stop        

(if you drop it  pick it up  it will bounce)