The Beginning of the Universe

When two lovers come together

and two cells meet and merge

there’s a miniature big bang

and a universe begins.

It may seem inconsequential —

two strangers seeking pleasure

a drunken fling or favor

a jaded housewife’s weekly chore

but really they’re two gods

creating a new reality

an awesome responsibility

a world to nurture and oversee.

Gases solidify and atoms collect

consciousness spreads through the radiant void

and slowly the universe takes form and shape

expanding and slowly settling.

Every universe is an experiment

a new web of planets and galaxies

weaving new patterns and possibilities

creating new laws of nature.

Every universe is an adventure

a voyage through uncharted time and space

tentative steps forward and trailblazing paths

colliding and intersecting.

And every universe is a mystery

filled with hidden fissures and tunnels

teeming with invisible energies

and infinite, dark potentials.

And almost as soon as the expansion slows

the slow movement of entropy begins

the connections weaken and the fragments spread

until the whole organism crumbles and collapses.

A slow decay or a giant crunch

and again the stillness of the void.