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)
