by Sally Zakariya
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Dark energy, the mysterious force powering the expansion of the universe, appears to be weakening, according to a survey that could “overthrow” scientists’ current understanding of the fate of the cosmos. If confirmed, the results from the dark energy spectroscopic instrument (Desi) team at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona would have profound implications for theories about the evolution of the universe, opening up the possibility that its current expansion could eventually go into reverse in a “big crunch”. —The Guardian, March 19, 2025 |
Raging wildfires… melting icebergs…
rising temperatures… falling birth rates…
whispers of war… growing fascism…
divided nation…
Where will it all end?
And now scientists are worried—
it looks like the universe itself
has had enough and has stopped
expanding.
Before you know it, those lady telescopes
(Nancy Grace Roman and Vera C. Rubin)
will huddle on a star, drinking tea
and tut-tutting about the end of it all.
But don’t worry.
Whether the universe starts expanding again
or—gulp—does a cosmic 180 and contracts
in a big crunch some billions of years from now,
we’ll still have plenty of time to destroy our own
little part of it in the meanwhile.
Sally Zakariya’s poetry has appeared in some 100 publications and been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Her publications include All Alive Together, Something Like a Life, Muslim Wife, The Unknowable Mystery of Other People, Personal Astronomy, and When You Escape. She edited and designed a poetry anthology, Joys of the Table, and blogs at www.butdoesitrhyme.com.
