What a Lovely Accident
Look closer. Look smaller.
Hovering in a dark, vibrant matrix
the long spiral of an identity,
protected in its world,
uncoils,
unzips,
replicates,
its code sent away and carried out.
And when its growth is done,
when it has its duplicates,
the home of our Identity
dissolves
breaks down
is eaten away
as our long spiral slowly coils carefully
winding tight tight to histones
condensing into chromosomes.
And as the spindle starts to grow,
Look! The chromosomes have crossed!
and now our genes are different,
so many Possibilities
Then spindle pulls them randomly
to pair on either side,
and as their limp bodies are dragged apart,
the Differences rush with them
and our codes are made our own.
Four cells, each from
e i g h t m i l l i o n possible combinations
of Ways To Be.
and just one of those cells
meets one other, from another.
and out of
s e v e n t y t r i l l i o n
possible people,
the one born
was you.
Maybe there’s a reason,
some Grand Plan or Scheme,
Or maybe we’re all
nature’s fantastic Accidents,
but your existence
can be nothing
but a miracle.