The Origin of Now

(after The Origin of Birds by Nicole Callihan)

There are ways to tell a story that involve evolving

past a previous nature of being. And evolving

doesn't just mean change, it means shapeshifting and moving through

life as though life were wind, and of course, the wind could sing. Evolving

through the human heart is like evolving

through layers of time, evolving

through layers of the mind. When I catch myself evolving,

I wonder if the world will join me, then I remember evolving

is about me and my concept of me.

I have often been called selfish for thoughts like these.

So maybe I am selfish for evolving

past outdated and stricken concepts of we and evolving

to recognize the strength that it takes to be constantly evolving.

And one day, I imagine,

I will have evolved into Ether itself;

I imagine, into Earth itself, where the word "evolving"

will be but a memory, inverted yearning,

and I will recall how I spent my years yearning

and how my yearning spent itself evolving

into spirals of desire

that brought me

into

now.