One day the astronomers awoke
And the stars were all gone

The universe
Tired of our instrumentation
and expectation

Threw itself into revolt
Photons elected to do
What they damn well pleased

Light swam in loops
Curled up into balls like cotton
And popped to the size of giants

Protons ran towards one another
And neutrons towards their own
And buzzing electrons stood
Very
Very

Still

Whilst the sun went nova for kicks
Then reassembled itself once more

Black holes spat out whole worlds

Rain fell up and hot air down

Space turned neon, shimmered and
shrank

An d ti me t i c ke d in f i ts an d star ts

As our legs declared mutiny

And led us all to footrests and easy chairs

Our arms folded themselves over our chests

And we became captive spectators

Watching the universe
Remind us of our place