disheveled, i awaken from a fitful sleep
jostled by subconscious reaction
to xrays, gamma rays, transmissions
from billions of dying stars
chance encounters
with the faces of dying strangers

breathing stardust breath
from when philosophy hit the air
where old poets lived and died
old armies lost and won
old kings reigned
new kings took the throne

sorrow holds sway here
where ancient molecules still mingle in new blood
given permanent place
in the spaces between life and death
where old bones rattle through empty halls
chains of one life broken
shouldering the weight of the next

still...
a beautiful woman
who knows your name
knows the feel of your intimate skin
a child whose unburdened laughter
pierces the steel of your armor
pulls you to your knees

they may only be the surface of the surface
where electrons squirm
magnet forces pull out or push in
may only twist us along old lines
where the same old forces remain
recycled
eternal

I'll take it

I'll take it all