In the beginning

In the beginning there was nothing at all

No time and no space that I can recall

It all began in what seemed like a bang

Vibrations of energy through the cosmos sang

This place is so small and so dense and so hot

This state is unstable and is sure to rot

Soon it expands due to cosmic inflation

Matter forms from quantum fluctuations

It got colder still...

Matter takes shape, nebulae form

Before long, the first star is born

A world once more bathed in light

If we saw it now, what a wonderful sight

When some stars die, they die with passion

Supernovae of all colours and fashion

From the ashes new elements rise

In which the potential for life lies...

It got colder still...

New generations of stars begin

Around them, gases and rocks do spin

Planets like Earth and Mars are made

Gravity bound, they're forced to stay

For millions of years the Earth transforms

Erupting volcanoes and terrible storms

When everything settles life will start

But it's tiny and weak and not very smart

It got colder still...

Bacteria split and grow and shape

Still a long way from the first ape

Evolution takes place over millions of years

Now we all have eyes and mouths and ears

We all get smarter and time marches on

Invent the wheel, and fire and television

New tools and technology fulfil our desires

And searching for meaning keeps us inspired

It got colder still...

Despite everything we learned from our mothers

We still haven't learned how to treat one another

We lie and cheat and pillage and steal

With no regard to how others feel

Take over the world, colonize and kill

But wait, there's more, more blood to spill

In nuclear war, the world's a furnace

We boil and burn, but nevertheless...

It got colder still...

No humans are left but life keeps on going

It develops and thrives without ever knowing

The sun will expand and swallow it whole

The promise of life will quickly get old...

And even the godlike sun is finite

One day all stars no longer shine bright

All of the beauty in the cosmos decays

Only the dark black holes will stay

It got colder still...

Far far in the future, eons from now

Even supermassive black holes break down

Still light keeps travelling further and further

An eternal dance with a lack of observers

Expansion and entropy make spacetime flat

Nothing can happen in a world like that

When nothing happens, even atoms stop spinning

Is this the end, or another beginning?

It got colder still...

In the beginning by Jordan Thijssen,

Signed 03/01/2021