From the first eager gasps of a newborn babe.
Red faced, tiny hands flailing indignantly as one is thrust into this strange and unfamiliar world.
It is only as the first breath is drawn that consciousness explodes.
The ember that has smouldered in its warm and safe cocoon - ignites.
A new and tiny being, each unique and like no other.
One muses that breath and the soul are one and the same.
After all, without breath life ceases to continue,
The flame becomes a flicker, then once again an ember.
Until it is only ash, cold and grey.
For every first breath, in contrast one draws their last.
The gusty cry of the newly arrived drowns the feeble rattle of the departing.
One soul earthbound while the other soars free as a bird,
Matter becoming energy once more, drifting in the vastness of the ether.