Or Us

The waltz of the germ and the phage
Has gone on for who knows how long.
The germ is life, and the phage is

Who knows what—its name hints it eats,
But, at play in the ring of life
Made by the germ that lives and dies,

The phage just jacks the DNA
To force the germ to make more phage
To spec ‘til the germ bursts its guts.

This is the dance. It can kill you,
By the way, the way you might burn
All the woods in the world. Too bad,

Whoops. The germ and the phage waltz on,
Arm in arm, if not from the dawn
Of life then near to it, if not

To the end of the Earth, then close.
How nice of you to give them names
Like us. All will come down to them