Black Hole
David Stephenson

​​​​​​​The line through space and time on which you glide
is gradually, irrevocably bent
into a less and less controlled descent
through clouds of glowing dust and gas that hide
a point where darkness has solidified
and space is mangled beyond measurement,
containing light in the entanglement,
so that you can’t see through it, or inside,

and as you near it, and begin to feel
your world’s geometry degenerate
and everything within you come undone,
if some last window opens to reveal
the plan and purpose of the whims of fate
you won’t be able to tell anyone.

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First published in Shelter of Daylight, September 2025

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​David’s notes: “Poets have been writing poems based on Greek mythology or Bible stories for a long time. Recently I’ve been trying to write poems using imagery from the great scientific theories, which align more with how I think. This poem is a death sonnet using imagery from the General Theory of Relativity, my personal favorite. I thought falling into a black hole was a pretty apt death metaphor. The poem was rejected a few times, but I eventually found a home for it at
Shelter of Daylight, an outstanding sci fi/fantasy magazine from Hiraeth Publishing.“

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David Stephenson is a recovering automotive engineer from Detroit, and the editor of Pulsebeat Poetry Journal.

 

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