the epiphany of a soul

The old story goes that when we die our soul goes
And ascends to the heavens above, but who really knows?
But I’m not concerned about where my soul will go
Because I’m still trying to find out if I even have one of those
What is my soul? My spirit, essence, energy, aura or glow?
Where is my soul when I’m alive?… I really don’t know

Because supposedly it’s there before we die
Like a fire it’s said that our souls burn inside
It’s seen in our hearts and it’s seen in our eyes
But is it really there or am I just being blind?
Was it there when love turned from butterflies to “compromise”?
Was it there when I was young and life was always a surprise?
Was is there the first time I said I loved
And was it there the first time I told lies?
Was it there when I was a baby and my mother tended to my cries?
Because I’m dying now to find out where my soul truly resides

Because how can I predict a destiny for something that desires salvation
When I can’t even understand its realness or formation?
Was my soul there when I was a fetus and went underwent neuralization?
Or was it there at day 21, when my heart started beating with regulation?
Is it there when my ecto-, endo-, and mesoderm start their primitive migration?
Or is it there before, when my synctiotrophoblast invaded during implantation?
Was my soul there when I was a ball of cells undergoing gastrulation?
Or was my soul there at the first division; the very start of differentiation
Because if you believe a soul is placed there upon conception’s congregation  
Then that’s to say you believe a soul is the product of an acrosome’s penetration
The culmination of a spermatocyte causing the zona pellucida’s depolarization
So is there a soul in a sex cell that’s haploid before our chromosomes’combination?
Because even the novel sequences of the DNA that make us have known configurations
Ribose sugars, a nucleic acid chained helix  and some phosphorylation
And those are each composed of known atoms in different orientations
Is our soul there? In the empty spaces between our atoms’ nucleus and orbital rotations?
If our soul is energy then must it not have mass that takes up some space in physical manifestation?
Or is it aura, a light of a massless glow that emits from within us like radiation?

Or is our soul really just the fact that we are aware and have come to a higher realization?
A figment of our imagination designed uniquely for the thought of self preservation

But why then, when we are angry our minds sense so much frustration?
And when we are happy it’s our whole body that feels elation
In sadness our entire essence is stuck in an act of desperation
And in love it is our entire being that craves more of that sensation

See, we don’t know what most of the universe is comprised of, but we still all see the beauty of its creation
That’s why even though we may never find the soul inside us; I still hope your soul is my soul’s destination

Author's Note

a modern day philosophical piece about an age old discussion.... where and what is a soul? sorry for the overkill of embryology in this one, but hey if you want to understand it, you can always google it

much love
shoaib

Reviews

[VelvetRosetta]

A standing ovation is in order! A brilliant piece to something I am sure even those with strong belief/theories may even wonder of.
I for one have a certain belief and even so I wonder as to how and when it was implanted within...your discriptions here is fantastic, and "yes...I did have to google a few words" lol...But well worth it!

[FamaSemperVivat]

This is very thought provoking, I always believe that I have a soul, and it's just based on faith.

[Ruth]

You know hon...lol..I won't even try to answer as you cobered it all! lol
Adding this to favourites! Sublime work - I adore the ending to this piece! If our souls can connect..there is hope that we truly are infinite consciousness :)
Some shamans believe the soul can wander also..I often think mine has! lol
Amazing work....breathtaking!
xx

[Shellie]

I loved it, I didnt think all the stuff about embryos was overkill there was just enough to really make you question it. I'll have to go away and think about this now. Really excellent writing.

[lovepoet]

I think that I've just read my first urban philosophy poem and it made more sense than academia.

Bravo for your enquiring mind, Bravo!

[Veronica Chandler]

This piece rocked my world; I just loved the philosophical questions you posed, the thought processes and the way in which you unfolded them, I especially loved the lines, "If our soul is energy then must it not have mass that takes up some space in physical manifestation? Or is it aura, a light of a massless glow that emits from within us like radiation?" You really have me thinking and that is always a good thing. Simply Awsome

[Robin]

these are the questions that light up the path to the discovery of , the soul , the self , the heart - you

[MoriartyMesa]

this reminds of me something Cleisthenes had wrote in his journals, the idea of the Soul. Very nice work, are you a reader of Athenian Philosophy, interesting stuff. You have the same sort of style in writing, love the work.

[quinfinn]

you did wax a little embryological there in the second stanza, but it fit and worked beautifully. i don't think i have read anything quite so provocative and introspective in a very long time. this is truly a wonderfully conceived and cleverly expressed piece of word art. shoaib... outstanding!

[silentpoet]

That was truly more than my words could ever express!! seriously you took me to a place of questioning. I know my soul and at times I wish it was not there. Seeming it would be easier to live my life without it..especially these days going through the hearts pain that I am..I loved this poem and it was very DEEP!!! look forward to reading more inside you now and that is something rare for me....you have a beautiful soul weither you know it or not!!! beautifully and geniously penned!!!! I only speak and write from the heart so please know I am real with all I told you. I love your work!!! silent poet-