To Be As Though They Had Not Been

The first lives, first cells, made a fist
To swap goods, solve their needs and fights,
But could not quite pull off the trick.
They’d have to make some kind of deal,
To share the wealth and keep this thing
Of theirs, this life. What could they do?
To live meant more than just to be.
To live meant to eat and to grow.

The first cell with a sort of pulse
Showed the way. If life had to grow,
Then life could not stop at a place,
But what if life could stop in time?
You could split and some splits could end,
Not all. Would that work? Well, not quite.
What if what was grieved life lost? Deal.
Death is as if life had not been.