Just as some families
some friendships
even marriages
attenuate and those who once were close
become like distant planets
through no fault
or intention of their own
so as the universe expands
the galaxies recede
moving apart from one another
with ever greater speed

It's not the galaxies
themselves accelerating
but the space between them
that expands
until the speed at which
the great star systems
move apart
exceeds even the speed of light
then they become like couples
who have grown so distant
they can no longer talk
to one another
this is the future
of our universe
that the astrophysicists predict

How good to live now
in this present universe
where Andromeda is still in view
and the Hubble telescope amazes
with images of fiery pinwheels, spirals
star clusters, nebulae and quasars
so distant that their light
has been streaming towards us from almost
the moment time began
and what a blessing to be conjoined
with the one
who comes to find me
regardless where I hide
whose light illuminates
my moon's dark side
she the fixed star
whose gravitation keeps me
in orbit lest I float off into space
her love the stellar force
the field that holds me
within the bounds of love's
cosmic embrace