Poem: "The Hourglass of Infinity"
This poem came out of the January 5, 2010 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from jenny_evergreen. It was selected in the generally sponsored poetry poll.
The Hourglass of Infinity
In the beginning, the cosmos quickened:
there was the light
and a wave moving swiftly over the face of the deep.
Inflating,
the universe invented itself
in every possible way,
refracted and reflected and refined
until it took on the shape we know.
Cosmic strings
form the web through which
all things are connected.
Quantum physics
is where the alpha meets the omega,
where science and mysticism
kiss and make up.
Quantum gravity
is where the universe
folds and unfolds itself,
revealing manifold mysteries.
From one force,
many manifestations;
from many paths,
one universe;
an hourglass
of infinity.
We are grains of sand
forever falling
from was
into will be
and when we have learned
how to map the sand and the hours and the glass
then we will know how the universe was made.
We will stir waves upon the deep,
and think thoughts of gravity.
We will take up the pages of manifold time
and fold a thousand cranes.