an eternity ago
there was nothing
elements but no air,
no fire without air—
no life without fire,
lightning, electricity,
a big shock to shake-and-awaken

and a while after that
there were bugs
bits of creeps wiffling
around, little buzzes
of something—tiny
conscious, maybe,
with one mind towards food
and eating and staying
alive—cannibalistic,
selfish little beasts,
and that was all there was,
a formerly-empty rock
crawling with bugs, their
teeth louder than hurricanes

and two billion years later
there was you:
are you proud yet?