Eleven Hundred Bars
You could stack eleven hundred atmospheres of air,
and that is what the bottom of the deepest trench has there,
eleven hundred bars of force applied to every square,
of surface area that dares to sink below the surface layer.
Eleven hundred bars and I am holding on to nothing,
eleven hundred bars and I can feel my ribcage crushing,
eleven hundred bars and every air pocket implodes,
eleven hundred bars is where the human body slows.
The piezophile bacteria thrive in every bar,
the proteins folded differently to get to where they are,
the cell membranes adjusted so the lipids do not freeze,
eleven hundred bars is where the hadal creatures breathe with ease.
I read the instruments and cross-referenced the gauge,
and everything the needle says has been known since an early age,
but knowing what the pressure does and feeling it are two,
different kinds of understanding that come through.
You could stack eleven hundred atmospheres of air,
and that is what the bottom of the deepest trench has there,
eleven hundred bars of force applied to every square,
of surface area that dares to sink below the surface layer.
Eleven hundred bars and I am holding on to nothing,
eleven hundred bars and I can feel my ribcage crushing,
eleven hundred bars and every air pocket implodes,
eleven hundred bars is where the human body slows.
The piezophile bacteria thrive in every bar,
the proteins folded differently to get to where they are,
the cell membranes adjusted so the lipids do not freeze,
eleven hundred bars is where the hadal creatures breathe with ease.
I read the instruments and cross-referenced the gauge,
and everything the needle says has been known since an early age,
but knowing what the pressure does and feeling it are two,
different kinds of understanding that come through.