I Am a River

(whisper) The you that brushed your teeth this morning Has already moved on Most of those cells are gone And you just kept going

(whisper) Skin cells fall off all day Stomach cells last about four days Red blood cells last about four months Bone cells take ten years to swap

(whisper) By the end of the year Most of you Won't be the same atoms That started the year as you

I am a river I am a river The water's always different The river's still here

I am a river I am a river Same shape, new water Same name, new cells

A flame is a thing too A candle flame The flame is always there The atoms in it are always different

The flame is only shape The flame is only pattern The flame is the SHAPE of burning The pattern that the burning makes

You're like that A candle that lasts ninety years The wax keeps coming The flame keeps going

(whisper) Your body replaces about Three hundred billion cells a day Three hundred billion While you're sleeping

(whisper) The atoms in your hand Used to be food Were dust before that Were stars before that

Forget pretending you're a thing You're a verb You're a doing You're a flowing-along

I am a RIVER I am a RIVER The water's always different The river's still here

I am a RIVER I am a RIVER Same shape, new water Same name, new cells

So what stays the same When the cells all change What's the YOU under the cells

Memories Patterns Habits The way you laugh The way you get scared The way you remember your friend's voice

That's the riverbed The shape the water flows through The cells come and go The shape stays

The shape is the PATTERN The pattern lives above the cells And the pattern keeps remembering itself Even as the pieces change

(whisper) So you can change Like really change And still be you

(whisper) The kid you were at five Almost every atom has moved on But that kid's pattern Is still the bed your river runs through

I am a river I am a river The water's always different The river's still here

I am a RIVER I am a RIVER The thing I am Is the SHAPE of becoming

(whisper) Same name New cells Tomorrow