Robert Erlandson
Center of the Universe
Everything is the center of the world. Everything is sacred.
– Black Elk, Lakota medicine/holy man
The universe is expanding. I think of this when I’m able to clearly see the extent of the night sky. The engineer in me is amazed that no matter where you find yourself in this universe it would be expanding away from you in all directions at the same rate. The poet in me smiles reading Black Elk’s words.
alone
on a clear moonless night
thin place
sky and desert
commingling
Author’s Note: thin places — a Celtic Christian term for those rare locales where the distance between heaven and Earth collapses.
About the Author
Robert Erlandson has published his work in cho, Haigaonline, Daily Haiga, failed haiku, Frog Pond, Bones, Cattails, Ribbons, The Heron’s Nest, and Prune Juice. His chapbook, AWE, of poetry and images speaks to the incredible relationships between nature, art, and mathematics.
See more on his website, Circle Publications.