This is a poem I wrote several years ago, inspired by watching a show on the Discovery Channel about how the universe was created. Even though I had learned all the science in school when I was younger, I was struck again by the sheer miracle of it all. I think it’s an idea worth remembering when we feel there is nothing left to wonder at in this world.

---

bits of stars

lowliest grain
to highest heaven
we journey out
to find ourselves
seeing all
yet knowing nothing
we stumble often
along the way

fragile creatures
we are promise
filled with hope
and such despair
climbing high
then quickly falling
losing ground
while gaining speed

we miss so much
but always linger
finding it hard
to turn away
bound to greatness
and to fault
strength and weakness
struggle on

light and dark
they meet within us
creating the spark
of life itself
brains to bones
all we are is dirt
and bits of stars
shining darkly