By Martin Falatic
Written 1994-05-23 16:30
Revised 1997-03-19

I paused for a moment in the darkness,
          weary from my long journey.
Looking for inspiration,
          some inkling of the mystery of this life.

                    * * * * *

I looked into the starry, moonless sky, transfixed.
          Never had I seen such a sight!
I felt as though I was on the edge of a great precipice,
          about to hurtle into the Void,
          to be swallowed up, lost and forgotten.
A traveler, without origin or destination,
          experiencing the Universe firsthand.
"So small and insignificant, I..."
          my thoughts began to wander,
          the tinge of despair eating at my mind.
The more I stared into the heavens, the deeper they became:
          an infinite sea of stars, frozen fire at this distance.
So tiny they seemed to my mortal eyes,
          yet their enormity filled my mind.
As I watched, I felt myself rising into the sky,
          my spirit lifting itself above the clouds,
          above the speck that was Earth.
I could feel a strong tingling in the pit of my stomach,
          making the hairs on my skin rise in waves.

                    * * * * *

I met the ground with a soft thud,
          as gravity and vertigo combined forces.
The stars receded slowly, back into the sky,
          while the Earth held her child close.
For a moment, I had touched eternity,
          and I was forever changed.