Telescopic Traveler

I am stretched thin by velocity,

accelerated to dizzying speeds.

A streak of consciousness

hurling through the cosmos,

tears evaporating in the vacuum

to form microscopic crystals

that trail brilliantly behind.

 

I need to run away.

 

A deep tug,

a yearning without end,

informs me I am experiencing

the interference of

stellar mass.

It pulls, it bends

my trajectory. 

It feels good

for awhile

to be wanted.

 

But I am too far

to be pulled into that vast embrace.

I am escaping too quickly

to be stopped still by one

simple kindness. 

 

And so I go on.

I pass through nebulae of

scattered rust,

my hairs degrading

to stardust, my face

picking up pock-marks

and crater holes

like a celestial

teenager with a visible

rebellious streak. 

 

The universe outshines me, now.

Scintillating vistas comprised

of countless suns,

rotating rings of ruby

and diamond -

even other travelers as myself,

leaving their comet trails

in my peripherals.

 

I am far from home,

and so very weary. 

 

It is time, at last, to kneel

to that great insistence.

The holy eye of creation,

the center of mass,

the infinite mind of the universe

itself has noticed me.

Its gravity is absolute,

and my resistance

is nonexistent. 

 

For the first time

in my travels,

instead of running,

I am being pulled.

The darkness swells up

to consume my entire field

of vision, until there is nothing.

And all I feel is a great sense of belonging. 

 

I pull my eye

away from the lens.

My cheeks are wet,

but I am smiling again.