Splashing in the Infinite

Are there no reasonable expectations 

of limits and boundaries? 

We are made of Divinity 

All our cells and atoms are God-stuff 

Yet somehow each cell has a membrane 

Each organ a unique function. 

We can interact, form relationship, 

Consume and be consumed by other,

Dive into an obsession, or a pool of water, 

Borrow or acquire heat from a body or a fire, 

Still we do not become those other entities. 

We require symbiosis of certain microbes to 

Protect our autonomy and integrity in order to 

Function as individuals, to remain whole and healthy,  

To digest our fuel - which consists of other life forms 

Dismantled and rearranged to become parts of us - 

To build our structures, which allow us to move,

Create, think and communicate effectively.

We are at the mercy of billions of bacteria 

who seem to know what they are doing, 

even when I do not. 

Then, after our bodies and purpose are exhausted, 

More separate, dedicated and designated characters 

Will devour and dismantle us into component parts 

Over time so our atoms and energy can fuel a new cycle. 

We break things down for our use, 

physically and mentally and emotionally, 

We break down, are broken down, the same. 

I've always wanted someone to love, she said, 

Who would love me as an equal, 

Who would love me, and care for me, 

And support my individuality in the same way 

That I love and care for and support them, 

A person who treats me like the goddess I am and 

Who knows their own Divine worth as well, 

Coming together in the understanding that 

We are literally the same stuff,

Respecting that, right now, we function 

Like separate cells, or adjacent interdependent organs - 

Heart, Lungs and Brain - in the same body. 

We are hermit crabs on the same beach 

Seeking our own unique shells, 

Being tossed around and thrown together for this moment 

By an unfathomably powerful ocean, 

Governed by an orbiting skyrock, 

Reflecting the light of a nearby star. 

I do not know why we are currently 

Differentiated like we are, but we are. 

And soon enough we will return to the soup, 

Reunite with the wall of fire at the perceivable horizon, 

The leading edge of the expanding universe. 

But for now, here we are and maybe, let's play.

IMAGE by THOMAS LIPKE