Forming the Universe – a poem by Mary Ellen Shaughan

Forming the Universe
 
 
I am reading about astro-physics and 
listening to books on astro-physics.
I am intrigued; I want to know more.
I stumble over words like 
quark, lepton and boson, 
but the image I get is that 
of a tight-fisted god who, 
more than a kajillion years ago, 
opened one fist, then another, 
much as a farmer might cast seeds,
though in this case particles of matter
were flung out, spewing forth, 
and in the process separating
at the yet incomprehensible speed of light, 
filling the vast empty spaces with stardust,
stardust that became, among other things,
you and me.
 

 

Mary Ellen Shaughan lives in Western Massachusetts with her beagle, Zeke, who sleeps through the printing of dozens of poems and short stories. Her first collection of poetry, Home Grown, is available on Amazon.