On the Edge

On the Edge

The edges creep in from time to time,

And all the wild things

Sitting on these borders

Step over the line

Like wicked spirits

Slinking through a break

In a fragile magic circle.

Things get interesting

Out there on the edge

Where domestic and wild

Can mingle for a while,

Swap stories and reminisce

About the good ol’ days

When they were much closer.

Design meets spontaneity

In a fit of indecision,

A weighing of desires

And unforeseen consequences,

Until architecture and engineering

Become biological,

Entwined in a double helix

And fueled by the power

Of a circling sun.

That is all well and good

Out there on the horizon,

To be watched like a sunset

With space in between.

But the edges creep in,

Softly like a butterfly

Slipping on in through your skin,

Contracting like concentric circles

Sucked into a singularity,

Now a bottomless black hole

With the weight of a universe

Lodged firmly, intently,

Right between your eyes.

Here the edges lie for a time,

Lodged like a chrysalis

With some strange creature inside,

Soon to fly out to the edge of the world.

Image credit: Richard Webb, from Wikimedia Commons, under a Creative Commons License.