Nebuchadnezzar’s epithelials
are trapped beneath my nails
I carve them out
blend them with my own
which are stardust
and the flesh of distant moons
and the residue of trees from last autumn
Sunlight and water
photons and hydrogen
Stocked with other staples
in the universe’s Costco
next to the pallets of carbon
and number ten cans of helium
Cells, atoms, compost
grass, leaves, dusty bones
carapaces, foundations
cities, highways, vernal ponds
fissures deep inside the crust
whirling balls, clouds
great blank spaces
tiny voids
all stacked on one another
Layers of trifle
awaiting a spoon
A meteor descends
and builds a crater
out of physics
Just in time for the four-billion-year reunion
