Mostly in our absence, the universe grew
from a baseball-sized cluster of concentrated energy
to an imposing neighborhood where mass found matter.
Something gave shape to the four great forces,
and in a meta-showdown, matter and its evil twin antimatter
slammed together like mortal enemies to create presence,
annihilating each other on contact, matter winning
for no clear reason, and we’re still waiting
to find out why the mystery exists.