Carbon Dust

Photo by Kendall Cox

"You are dust, 

and to dust 

you shall return." 

(Genesis 3:19c)     

Nearly thirty years ago,

I watched a teenage pyromaniac 

stare in awe 

at a marshmallow on a stick, 

held over the fire way too long, 

a smile spreading across his face. 

"Whoa, dude; 

totally carbonized!" 

            ******

   In loving reverence, 

   cremains of the dearly departed 

   are treated as sacred ashes, 

   in a beautiful urn 

   on the family room mantle 

   or in a personal prayer space 

   or scattered across 

   holy woods or water. 

We are stardust, 

we are golden, 

and we've got to get ourselves 

back to the garden.

(“Woodstock” by Joni Mitchell)

      Darkness reminds us 

      we're surrounded 

      by billions of stars. 

         We rarely think of them 

         during the light of day. 

         But they're there all along; 

         were there long before 

         the first strand of human DNA 

         sparkled on earth;

will be there long after 

the final helix ceases to exist; 

sending their light via 

speeds stretching comprehension; 

shooting, fizzling in a constant 

galactic fireworks of magnificence. 

   With or without combustion, 

   our carbon-based bodies, 

   once breath and heartbeat cease, 

   are composted back into the earth, 

   embalming fluid be-damned. 

      The Lenten question –  

      or the existential one –  

      is not if we'll flatline, 

      or even when, 

      but how much humus 

      we'll provide the world around us

      while we're still 

      on the green side of the grass. 

         It's not a question 

         of greatness, fame, or fortune, 

         or of pedigree, real estate, and portfolio.

   

It’s about passion and purpose; 

not whether we appear 

to be shooting stars, 

but how our candle casts light 

into the shadows 

of the neighborhood. 

"Keep open house;

be generous with your lives.

By opening up to others,

you’ll prompt people

to open up with God,

this generous Father in heaven."

(Matt 5:16 MSG)

© 2016 Todd Jenkins