Descendants of the suns

8 November 2019

When the chemistry teacher said
Atoms cannot be created nor destroyed
Did you wonder where they come from?

Well, science says
At the beginning, there was only one element
What we now call Hydrogen
They come together because of attraction
And the lumps become bigger and bigger
Till they collapse to their own weight
Fusing hydrogen atoms at the core
Stars being born
Nuclear reactions producing heavier elements

When the stars die, they sacrifice themselves
Scattering their innards across the universe
Particles then meet again
A story repeated quadrillion times
After countless generations of infants
A child named Carbon was born

After eons, on a space rock called Earth
A labyrinth of causes and luck
Gave rise to the first duplicating form of life
Building blocks gifted by the deceased giants

Fast forward a chain of events and history
Our ancestors walked on Earth
Nourished by the mother nature
Now look at yourself reading this
Look at your hands, your legs, your face and eyes
Composed of cells built with molecules built with atoms
Once lived at the very core of the stars
Look at your parents, your significant other
Without stars, there are no us
We are made of recycled star stuff
We are literally the descendants of the suns

Tribute to Carl Sagan

The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.

Carl Sagan