What is my nature? What is my value?
If my quarks and leptons formed from ocean
and earth—an exploding star’s residue,
particles of universal motion—
if my matter’s mass mirrors all else in
the cosmos, am I not only part of
the heavens but heaven itself? Essence
of life everywhere? If I fall in love
on clear nights when stars chorus eyes and song
flowing through me, my body imploding
and exploding at once, is that not strong
and weak uniting, gravity’s prodding,
electromagnetic charging? Each force
fundamental to each particle’s course?
Roger Armbrust
October 14, 2007
