Life against Fire

The figures of speech
Favor life—they’re twins,
Life and fire, like death

And sleep, though it’s less
Clear which is stronger.
Or, one’s ancestor

To the other, which
Makes things clearer
Since fire’s much older.

There’s a peculiar
Thought—what if fire is
Not older than life?

What if hunger was
First, what if hunger
Is the dark matter

Fueling gravity,
Holding fires of stars
Together that should

Scatter? Fire as one
Of life’s waste products,
Hence toxic to life.