A Helical Spiral of Indeterminate Tense

The sun is just a star
We chose to father us
The moon, our mother
Illuminates the night
And whispers lullabies
To soothe us
When the darkness
Frightens us

The Earth
Our home
Bedrock beneath
Space above
But solid ground
Spins us round
Cycles of life
Always turning

What begins
Ends
What ends
Renews
What renews
Is unending

The clockwork
Universe
Ticks away time
On a face
Larger than a galaxy
Smaller than a particle

But matter
Has its own mind
Bending and warping
Until hours seem like minutes
And today could be tomorrow
Or yesterday
Time, I see, is not a line
But a curvaceous sweep
With some discontinuity
Should I fail to achieve
Escape velocity

I am here
And gone
In a celestial second
Then here
And gone again
Or was that there
And back again
While all that is
Tic toc tics
In its infinite movement
A helical spiral
Of indeterminate tense