From One, Came Two 

Umael Qudrat

So this is how it all unfurled:
A neuron twists and splits in two
From one, came two—from two, the world.
Then, the creature, brain threads uncurled,
Wanders and ponders upon you,
“So this is how it all unfurled?”
“Yes,” goes the lightning, his bolts hurled,
“Look! You see my spiked forks of blue—
From one, came two—from two, the world!”
Then, the river, glitter streams pearled,
Cracks into rivulets anew.
“So this is how it all unfurled.”
The old oak creaks, branches twirled.
From so few, her thousand limbs grew—
From one, came two—from two, the world.
The creature, spiral thoughts unswirled,
Thinks, “What the cosmos hums is true.
So this is how it all unfurled:
From one, came two—from One, the world.”

The Science

This poem explores the essence of fractals - chaotic, self-repeating patterns found throughout nature in all sorts of fascinating forms. A single neuron, a bolt of lightning, a branching tree: each echoes the same recursive principle, where vast, ordered structures emerge from the unfolding of simple, singular origins. In writing it, I was struck by how often the universe builds immensity from simplicity - how one fork becomes many, how chaos carves form. Fractals blur the line between chaos and order, and in this villanelle, I sought to capture that delicate space in between - an ode to our world’s wild, spiralling elegance.

The Poet

Umael Qudrat is a neuroscience student and amateur poet at York University ever fascinated by the intersections of mind, memory, and metaphor. When he’s not unraveling the folds of a brain or a book, he enjoys sauntering among the trees, fencing ungracefully, and chasing the ineffable magic of words.

Next poem: How to Defeat Chaos by David de Young