Iapetus - I Contain Multitudes

We are the body cosmic;
the interconnected flesh.
Transfigured and forged
in sidereal flame;
dark matter genetics
pulse through our veins.
But life begins shattered;
our first breaths are scattered;
and we are born broken.

Whatever I am is the creation of others.
Coalescence
Nurture molds what nature has made.
I contain multitudes

Shield the eyes—maternal fire;
fragments of self in the distance.
Cosmic background kin;
ego dies in the frigid expanse.
Identity killed by the knowledge of station;
unwhole apart—everything together;
the untethered celestial
children of cosmic debris.

Whatever I am is the creation of others.
Coalescence
Nurture molds what nature has made.
I contain multitudes

Lungs heavy with stellar dust;
beating blood-red star hearts;
eternal matter incarnate;
is this the grand design?

Where does the weight of the universe lie?

With the stars up high,
or with the space between them?
With the planets above,
or with the suns that feed them?

Where does the weight of the universe lie?

With the brain that breeds thoughts,
or with the mouth that speaks them?

Where does the weight of the universe lie?

With the limbs of a body,
or with the muscles that move them?

Here, from the vantage of stars,
a revelation;
no whole exceeds its parts.
Every cell;
a monument to insignificance.
Every mind;
an ode to circumstance.
The truth that each of us must seek:

Where does the weight of the universe lie,
if not with me?