conditionals

after Curious Dream of an Architect by Fatih Semiz

i reach through helical dove-grey into the sculpture's belly
& pull out the spacetime continuum 
roll it smooth between my fingertips
a cosmic blunt or a question i'm not ready to ask
it's lighter than i was expecting
beautiful in the way storms are:
unashamed

the high-cut jaw of pythagoras’ constant
promises to catch all of my particles
hold them
gently in angled relief
the weight of dead scholars lies
silent & steady
in the bruise of my mouth
& yet

in a world of edges the sculpture is made of windows
spiralling ever-outward
the event horizon quantum entangled with all i ever could
& all i will never be
the question remains unasked
gravity the deathbed i was born into

the sculpture kisses newton’s laws on their foreheads
while i wander the corridors of its throat
slip into the coiling, writhing black hole
of all its potential
a curious dream balanced
on the exquisite precipice of belief

i want to curl myself into its planes
fold in & collapse like
petals
spider legs
stars
the line as shadow meets sun
lips stretched into a smile that could keep time
easy
like holding my breath

who built you, i wonder
the other question i keep tucked inside my cheek
as i take
the sculpture
               (my)self
apart
then remember
spacetime is one word for a reason
inextricably entwined
atoms & existence
a key & a lock
an architect & a dream
a question bound in the theory of everything