From Above

At the core of all
Metabolism,
Within cells, before

The cells even get
To competition
Between cells, much less

Tournaments among
Cooperative
Teams of striving cells,

There is a tension
Between energy
Flow, waste disposal,

And growth. That is,
Every engine is
An ecosystem,

Homeostatic
In operation,
But prone to breakdown

Among competing
Demands—grow too fast,
Ingest too much, fail

To balance waste well
With sufficient thrift,
The cell collapses.

That’s why any life,
When it collapses,
Dies from the bottom

In the death of cells,
Even if the blow
Was struck from above.