Meditation from a Collection of Matter

Photograph by Michael McPhie

I am made of the elements;

Hydrogen, oxygen, carbon,

Like the endless expanse of the universe.

My chest rises and falls

Like the coming and going tide;

Inhaling and exhaling like an ocean breeze.

Each breath is a breath taken before

Maybe by the first humans in their persistent wandering,

Maybe by my asthmatic neighbor whose name I don’t know.

The same DNA that’s buried deep in my system

Was once curious enough to leave the familiar sea for dry land.

Primordial baths are still very relaxing.

I wasn’t here to see the last mass extinctions

The explosive volcanoes, the blazing heat and freezing cold, the imminent asteroid.

But I’m surviving in the present with some medication and only moderate existential dread.

I am made by my times.

An imprint, a force, an artifact, a future fossil, if I’m lucky.

A piece, a collection, an infinitesimal, quintessential part of everything.

By Michael McPhie