What Are We Made Of?

What are we made of?

Flesh. Bones. Nerves. Muscle.

We are a cacophony of carrion all bundled together, 

Seen as holy,

Seen as beautiful.

Some see souls,

Some see spirits,

But we are just a carcass 

Waiting to be eaten.

The saying goes that our bodies are temples, 

That we are uniquely alive,

That our brains are so much more developed than other creatures.

But underneath all of the superficial,

Self-absorbed,

Ego-boosting,

Vanities,

We are the same as everything else.

Our goal is to survive.

Our goal is to reproduce. 

Humans, as a species, aren’t remarkable.

We aren’t the pinnacle of evolution.

But because we think we are, we reach.

We reach for more

And more

And more

And more

Until our arms get tired, 

And then we’ll reach again until there’s 

Nothing left to grab.

That is why we are unique.

Because we are our own worst enemies.

Animals in the wild have problems,

But they are always caused by something else.

A mouse’s biggest problem is the threat of death from a cat.

A young sapling’s biggest problem is an invasive species.

An elephant’s biggest problem is where it will next find water.

But humans,

All of our problems

Are caused by ourselves.

They aren’t external,

Hopeless,

Out of our control - 

Everything that is wrong with us,

It is simply “us.” 

We are just dogs chained in the front yard,

Or birds in cages in a painstakingly loud pet store.

We are the dog, and we are the chain.

We are the bird, and we are the cage.

All of the hurt we both feel and cause,

It’s in the interior.

And what else is in the interior?

Flesh. Bones. Nerves. Muscle.

So really, 

What are we made of?