POEM
GWEN ATKINSON
GWEN ATKINSON
'What Colour is the Universe?'
By Gwen Atkinson
Gwen Atkinson '26 is a guest writer, contributing a range of fiction works for The Roar.
What colour is the universe?
The universe is a mysterious thing
Always changing
Never still
It is full of nothing
And everything
And anything that can possibly be is
or
Isn't
Push
Pull
Beauty that words can't reach to touch
Horror that escapes words as well
What colour is the universe?
The universe is a mysterious thing
It encapsulates all
How would one describe the universe?
Approach it scientifically
Explaining the anatomy of stars,
the composition of comets,
the galaxies,
the planets,
and the way that supernovas explode
Or does one just
Look
The stars are twinkling balls of forgotten souls, trying to find their way back to their families
The comets are a benevolent god's paintbrush, streaking yellow and white across the midnight dome
The galaxies are spiralling purple flowers, bunches growing across the starry universe
The planets are stones skipped across the great rippling sea by gods and giants, sinking into the endless darkness
The supernovas are the deaths of phoenixes, before they rise from the ashes, a fiery spectacle in the night sky
What colour is the universe?
The universe is everything and nothing
Push
Pull
Every colour that could be, is
An endless spectrum
An endless spectacle
A wonder
Never-ending
Ever-changing
Forever encapsulating
Is
Isn't
Push
Pull
What colour is the universe?