the universe is intended to be discovered

I hugged my pillow to sleep
and the scent of your hair was nowhere.
The universe currently exists between
my sigh and when
you close your eyes.

I am not asking to be Columbus
and you the New World.
You are not territory
and I have no sovereignty
to place a flag on your landscape.

I just ask you understand
that looking into your eyes
and listening to your thoughts,
amidst your vulnerabilities
and your insecurities and your
strength and resilience

I have discovered a world
unique, a world beautiful from
the inside out. I have laid eyes
not on a world flat -- one which
I was scared existed -- but
a world in which my stars satellite
with gentle illumination.