Within the smallest space entire
universes hide, they say;
and mystic shortcuts can be found
throughout and beyond the Milky Way
so that like the Little Prince
a soul can, at a single bound,
travel light years of distance
and hop from world to world.
Had I the right engines to fire
I could reach warp speed and be hurled
or “beamed up” faster than light beams
as easily as in my dreams.
Though between us there might be
no more than an arm’s length, it seems
there lies an unseen galaxy.
But if anything can light the path
proposed by physics, proved by math,
and used in science fantasy,
then I shall find the way around
the distance between you and me
if not in math or dreams, in poetry.
James B. Nicola’s poetry has garnered two Willow Review awards, a Dana Literary award, seven Pushcart nominations, and one Best of the Net nom. His full-length collections include Manhattan Plaza, Stage to Page: Poems from the Theater, Wind in the Cave (2017), Out of Nothing: Poems of Art and Artists (2018), Quickening: Poems from Before and Beyond (2019), and Fires of Heaven: Poems of Faith and Sense (2021). A Yale grad, he also has enjoyed a career as a stage director, culminating in the nonfiction book Playing the Audience: The Practical Guide to Live Performance, which won a Choice award.