I was a flower in a past life.
You probably were, too
Maybe we grew together
Until our petals became fused.
Then before that I was a beetle.
Not the kind that sings,
The kind that rolls dung around
And flies with jeweled wings.
And before THAT I was a lizard
Rubbing dusty lids,
Stretching in the sun
And chewing brittle skin.
I think there\'s a blank slate here.
A billion years or so
You were a mitochondrian
With many things to know.
Like who you are,
Where you\'re from
What you do,
Your total sum.
And I, again,
The premier cell of greed,
Gobbled you up and caged you,
Never to be freed.
It\'s funny looking back
On all the lives we\'ve shared.
As friends or lovers or bailiff and charge
And the story of how you\'ve fared.
I think about the past a lot these days
And the things that we once were
But I love you, dearest prisoner,
Of that you can be sure.
But when I think of days yet seen
And quiver in my fear
You greet the unknown brave and true
As friend near and dear.