So here we are, fallen, but not without
grace. Stretched and still
stretching. Time,
allowing storms to pass and then, to start again.
A blink, and we are looking inwards. Another, and we are merely a way for the universe to know itself.
It all seems to come down to balance.
Gravity, losing to expansion, but not forever.
(within (within rings) rings) Rings within rings (within (within rings) rings) Rings within rings
(within (within rings) rings)
Rings within rings
(within (within rings) rings)
Rings within rings
We are all circling something like a wedding band dropped
into a sink.
Closer, closer, until
many is one, and gravity has finally
won, and we wait
and wait, until, the storm starts
again.

Ian Brunner is a fiction writer and poet from Buffalo, New York who is currently residing in Atlanta, Georgia. His work has been featured in eight journals and zines. He is the author of the chapbook, Ruminations (CWP 2017). He can be found at Twitter.Com/MadRadIan.