Carbon

Diamonds are 99.5% carbon compressed
Man, they're just so tough
Me, I'm running about 18%
So I guess that makes me a diamond in the rough

When my water evaporates
And my nitrogen dissipates
Except for calcium and phosphates
What remains is mostly carbon

Graphite's 100% carbon
Yet my pencil seems so brittle
Words I erase leave empty space
And seem to mean so very little

Still, those dark temporary marks
They start on paper, then catch sparks
Like Charm, Strange and other quarks
They matter more than soulless carbon

Our economy's built on carbon, petroleum, coal, and plastics
Lacking global synergy, energy demands inelastic
They say, "It's too late to debate"
Wipe the board or clear the slate
In irony, it seems our fate is to suffocate in our own carbon

Ever wonder why God chose carbon over silicon-based creatures?
Probably 'cause he knew us humans would develop our own procedures
We take dumb glass at large expense
Make some artificial intelligence
Once chosen ones lament the natural descent of carbon

And when I die, guys, I wanna share my carbon with the Earth
Preferably by surprise, like spread out by a random firework
And at my wake, for goodness sake
Don't let your kids swing at the piñata
Unless they're okay with being sprayed in a cloud of their great-grandpa

Whether you plant me with a tree
Or bury me at the beach
According to laws of basic entropy
There's no place my carbon won't someday reach

Even though it's on an atomic scale
I know my destiny
To be bound to you, just a Dalton away
Like in that diamond for eternity
And that sounds like heaven to me