He put down his Monte Blanc writing pen on the green baize covered antique writing bureau, and sighed deeply with exhaustion. He leaned back in his wooden chair that creaked and groaned in protest, under his weight. He was so very tired. His work was hard, but very important. Not just to him but to the world of physics and ultimately the progression of man’s total understanding of the universe.

Professor Harding had been many things in his past, a troubled yet extremely intelligent young man, who graduated from Oxford University with the highest distinctions. “The New Scientist” magazine had hailed him as the new “Einstein” and it had been said that even the likes of Stephen Hawkins would have trouble fathoming some of the revolutionary concepts in Quantum physics that he had pioneered. He had worked at NASA as a theorist for conceptual terra-forming projects, had been the lead consultant on the Hubble telescope upgrade projects, had worked for the US and UK military in top secret biological and nuclear experiments. He had lectured at Cambridge University on quantum physics and astrophysics. But now he resigned his life to the one unsolved mystery in science today – quantifying gravity within a black hole. He had devoted the last five years of his life in this pursuit, day after day, locking himself away in his small study. He had become a recluse and was driven by a deep need to solve this scientific riddle.

His main obstacle was the figure he obtained when he ran his calculations following his, and others, equations. If he used Einstein’s theory of relativity as his model and ran his calculations he resulted in a figure that was infinite. If he used quantum physics as his base model and ran his calculations he resulted in the same infinite number. This he simply could not accept. A black hole was the result of a large star that had collapsed in upon itself when it died, thus creating a super dense core that had immense gravitational forces attributed to it. The deeper into the black hole you fell the greater the gravitational influences became so that not even light particles could escape. What he wanted to know was what happened to gravity at the very core of the black hole and how this could be quantified with numbers using a proven and accepted model. The problem he had was accepting the infinite number as there must be a point that the gravitational forces reached their maximum, thus would provide a whole number rather than a reoccurring infinite number. After-all, the star had a beginning, so by reason and logic must have an end also. He had run his equations a million times and his calculations a million times more than that. Every time he got the same infinite number. He would try back calculating his equations in the chance that he had missed something, but alas would always end up with that infinite number.

He arose from his chair and walked the few steps to his slightly ajar window. He closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his mop of white hair that resembled that of a mad scientist from an old Frankenstein movie. He felt the cool, gentle breeze upon his face; he heard the bird’s song on the air, the distant drone of an aeroplane in the deep blue sky, the traffic passing in the streets and a host of other noises that the everyday world was so good at making. He felt the warm sun on his cheeks and that made him feel good. He always felt good with the feeling of the suns warmth upon his skin.

Then came his eureka moment.

Could it be that simple? Had he been overlooking the most basic fact for as long as he had been working on solving this problem?

He rushed back to his desk and tried his new theory out. First with Einstein’s model, then the quantum physics model. Both times he was shocked to find a whole number was the result, the same whole number for both models. He ran the calculations again and again and again, Forwards and backwards and every time the same whole number was the result. He had done it. Five long years of devotion and hard work, that had almost sent him insane, had finally come to fruition. He had solved the riddle.

When stood at the window, eyes closed, was there nothing? Yet there was something, all the feelings, sensations and sounds that he felt and heard. With this in mind he asked himself where in the universe did absolute nothing exist? No-where was the answer. Even in the deepest darkest vacuums of space there was always something. Tachyon particles, gamma rays, space dust, electro-magnetic anomalies and even black holes. On this basis why was he accepting to use a number base system for his calculations that included the number zero? When he returned to his equations and calculations without the inclusion of Zero he had finally solved the problem. The figure he had in front of him was the answer to quantifying gravity within the heart of a black hole.

Professor Harding leaned back in his chair and let out a long and loud laugh. It was so simple in the end. He just needed to change that slight aspect of his conventional academic trained mind and accept the possibility of an alternative. He laughed harder and louder.

Outside the patient’s cell, in the secure unit for the clinically insane, the orderly opened the viewing hatch to check on the patient within. The patient that was laughing to himself.

"I love you"

Three words.

Typed out in secrecy,

shouted out across a roiling mass of people.

"I love you"

sunshine flowing from your fingertips to your dear one with a single touch.

A smile like the cool mist of the dawn.

"I love you"

tossed out like flyers for a product or

guarded and kept like precious jewels for the one.

"I love you"

a choking whisper as terrible as quicksand,

sucking you down and numbing you

or a laughing call, causing lightning tendrils of happiness to

rush through your veins, making you blush

"I love you"

remembered and hated from the one who betrayed you

or cherished from those who have gone on before you

"I love you"

only words

"I love you"

with a kiss

with a note

with a wink

with a smile

"I love you"

with blood

with tears

with sickness

with death

I love you

more than you will ever know,

forever and always,

into eternity.

Red is

the quick press of lips on your burning cheek

the taste of a dissolving peppermint

the pervasive, wafting smell of a rose

the passionate words of a man to his bride

this savoring of special pleasures

Orange is

the rough rubber of a ball

the sweetness of citrus fruit flowing over your tongue

the salty, pungent scent of sweat running down your face

the crackling of searing flames

this energy flowing through our veins

Yellow is

the weight of gold in your pocket

the taste of an ice-cold lemonade on a summer's day

the smell of sunflowers, swaying in the breeze

the merry tinkling of bells fastened to a sleigh

this lighthearted playfulness in our spirits

Green is

the ridged lines of a husk of corn

the slimy taste of avocado

the grassy smell of a just mown lawn

the croaking of frogs in the night

this quiet joy in simply living

Blue is

the stillness of a frozen lake

the cool water running down a parched throat

the salt air of the ocean, flying across the waves

the sound of silence, of utter tranquility

this peacefulness through trials and triumphs

Purple is

the glide of velvet across your palms

the taste of champagne in a crystal glass

the smell of an ancient, dusty book

the sweet music of sincere compliments

this relishing of precious things

Pink is

the warm blush that comes over your face when you touch the one you love

the taste of cotton candy from the carnival

the smell of your mother

the popping of a bubble gum balloon

this child-like delight in little things

Brown is

your fingers tracing the grooves of a tree trunk

the piping hot slice of buttered bread for breakfast

the smell of freshly plowed dirt

the singing of birds at the dawning of the day

this satisfaction in things that never change

Grey is

the water-smoothed skipping stone you hurl into the pond

the taste of fried mushrooms, steaming on your plate

the smell of gasoline rushing through your rumbling engines

the wailing wind, ever calling at your door

this questioning of who we were, who we are, and who we are meant to be

White is 

the crisp sheets pulled up to your shoulders as you drift off to sleep

the spoonfuls of freezing ice cream melting on your tongue

the sharp, vinegary smell of your freshly cleaned floor

the swish of a wedding dress against the aisle

this rare innocence and purity

Black is

the iron barrel of a pistol pressed against your heart

the taste of unspent tears catching in the back of your throat

the choking smell of your home burning

the last soft breath of the one so dear to your heart

this despair, this anguish in powerlessness, in death

I raise the vanquishers, the masters, the destroyers of the future.

My every action, my every word will shape this tiny person for good or for ill.

I never dreamed it would be this way.

How fragile they are!

Those soft, chubby hands may one day curl into a fist and damage another without cause.

Those sparkling blue eyes may one day harden into indifference, inflicting injustice to the innocent.

Those gap-toothed grins may one day transform into an sneer, wafting out words of poison and death to those who cry "Mercy!"

So little time.

What will they become?

Once upon a time,

I wanted to rhyme,

but couldn't get past the first verse.

The strangest thing about my cat...

is that she's not actually my cat. Venus Diana is my little sister's cat. But, when I sit down on our porch in the cold dawn hours, she sidles up to my leg and purrs as if I am her favorite person in the world. 

As I sip my steaming cup of coffee, she somehow appears in my lap, radiating warmth into my shivering body. Once she's settled, she slits her eyes to the rising sun and lies like a marble statue, save for the gentle rise and fall of her chest.

When the sun has cleared the horizon, and I am compelled to leave this tiny pocket of stillness, she leaps off my lap and bats playfully at my feet as I step over the threshold of the door.

Maybe I do not really own this cat--

but I think she would disagree.