Shin 辛

What is the substance
The substance of the soul
A question for the poets
And philosophers of old

Can it be measured
In inches or in miles
In teaspoons or teardrops
Blood, bone or bile?

What is the substance
The substance of the soul
Can it be engineered
Programmed into code

Synthetically created
In a new Computer Age
A digital canary
In an electronic cage

What is the substance
The substance of the soul
Is it written in the language
Of starlight and black holes

Mathematics of the heavens
Predestined from the start
Software of the spirit
Hardware of the heart

What is the substance
The substance of the soul
If it leaves me when I die
Where does it go

Flickering in darkness
A candle left to burn
Will it sputter out forever
Or someday return