Islands of wonder
Like a broken string of pearls
Scattered in velvet

Glorious artwork
These worlds that are not our own
Sculpted by nature

Interstellar space,
Nebulas coalescing
That will form new stars

Stars die, are reborn,
The Phoenix rising always
From its own ashes

The cycle of life,
Played out on a macro scale,
To the end of time

Every one of us,
Individual artworks,
From those selfsame stars

No matter which pearl
Of our endless universe
Has given us life

We are all but one
In communion with stardust
Why can’t we see that?

You can hear me read this and three other new poems at https://youtu.be/Fy5UfJJ8vOI