In South Africa paleontologists discover
Homo habilis in a cave; archaeologists dust off
and reassemble the bones.

I vacuum forgotten items in the basement:
a sparkly-haired Barbie, her plastic white horse,
as assortment of weights, an old clock.

With a sweep of the dusting brush,
the alarm that roused the kids for school
starts ticking again.

A friend’s disgnosis makes me clear the air–
dust we are, and unto dust we return,
then comes the resurrection.