Us, apart- Seven billion loose ends of string Bordering a roughly knitted quilt, Pieces left unstrung, forgotten, Maiden hand moving on. A mile’s length of sand On charred, abandoned beach, Each grain a lonely planet Among a universe filled with too many more. But us, together- Thirty thousand strands woven tightly in a knot, Thirty thousand knots embroidered into a design, Each miniscule length of string Only a piece of something greater. We are a writhing, heaving mass, A thundercloud marching across angry skies, Not seven billion drops of rain But a single pattern dancing in the air.