Unique perhaps among
all my fellows
I have no past lives to tell.
I die and I live again, die
and am born, grow, ripen, fade
and fade and expire
and sag and rot and live again
the same life again, only the one,
counting just the fast rolling seasons
that do not repeat themselves
and again I sink thrashing into
soil so rich in organic compounds
only to rise in a blink of the cosmic
eye back up through the mulch,
taste thick air, let the rays
of a newborn sun warm me through
as I begin to decay again,
blood slowing, heart straining,
my soul humming a strange
little tune: I am alive,
I am alive, I am
alive.
(Originally appeared
in Imaginarium)
