sometimes, 

when it feels as if

problems are rising around me

like water filling in a pool

i like to look up

at the sky

(especially at night)

when all the stars are out

and i like to remember.

i like to remember

that the universe

expands out around me 

for what could be an infinity

(an infinity of stars, 

spread out around me)

expanding and glowing

burning and freezing

living and dying

just like us. 

we look up into the sky

and we see the past

the sky that lived years ago

stars, that 

glimmer

and glint 

and glow

that could have vanished

long ago

i like to look around

because

every

single

thing

that i see

is a part of this infinite patchwork

that includes me

assembling together

into something beautiful.

i am a part

of the universe,

one piece of an endless puzzle,

growing and expanding, 

blazing and colliding.

i am made of stars 

that used to exist

long ago

and in a faraway someday 

i will be stars once again.

i love the brutal continuity

of the universe

because no matter what

no matter how big we smile

how much we wish

we could save a moment

and stretch it out

and tuck it in our back pocket

no matter how hard we cry

how much we wish

we could go back in time

we are stuck 

inside this moment

and we continue to live it

and the sun rises

and the stars twinkle

and we laugh

and we cry

and the universe expands

and life goes on.

i am reminded

that i am nothing

but at the same time

i am a part of everything

and there is beauty

in it all.

there is beauty

in the belonging

in the chaos

in the fact

that the universe 

carved out a spot

just for me.