I Live

At this moment, with thoughts of death,

hovering around the corner

I am reminded of the miracle of my body;

Inside my body, the thoughts dig into cells and genes.

The 1,000,000,000,000 cells that have my DNA

the genes and the chromosomes –

around 20,000 and 25,000 genes

and 3,000,000,000 bases around my genome, so I read

and how unique and intricately they work.

How does it all happen?

And they connect me to the outside world, too?

Isn’t it all a miracle?

Reminders of death are like lightning

waking me up that moment.

I run out, pushing all blues aside,

and drink the sunshine like

an elixir of life.

Viva la vida. I shout to the sun.

Tulip Chowdhury writes from Georgia, USA.