❝Once, I dreamt of a universe,

Of the worlds that wink into

And out of existence

In the time it takes to breathe.

Once, I imagined a universe,

Where stars the blue of arctic ice

And red and orange of forest flame

Dance, in an inky cosmos.

My thoughts were filled with a universe,

As infinite as possibility,

Yet as finite as understanding,

And boundless as all that is lovely and free.

I wondered, does this universe,

Acknowledge you or me?

Is one meagre life inconsequential,

Or is a million, a thousand, or just three?

Maybe, this lovely universe,

Is acutely aware of every atom,

Knows when hydrogen fuses to helium,

And weeps when stars go supernova.

Does the universe ever know?

When to spin a marvel from plumes of smoke,

And when to create a feat disguised in mundanity,

And when to do nothing but let nothing stretch on for light years?

And as I watched my universe forever,

Made wishes on the shooting stars,

Made patterns in the sky,

I waited. And listened. For a sign.

For surely, this universe is sentient.

It must know, everything it has given,

And everything it has created,

And every flame it blew out to wisp.

And the realness of it all flooded me,

And blessed me with an imagination,

A mind to banish the midnight black,

And hands to spin marvels out of smoke.

And I knew then, that it knew,

That every thank you wasn't for naught,

That it wanted me to question,

And to understand it's strange potential.

For I had been given a gift,

A whisper of a wish come true,

The realisation of hope fulfilled,

And the capacity to dream of a universe.❞