The universe shrank

I saw this poem online earlier today while I was catching up on the news and generally being grossed out by how truly awful people are. The poem stopped me, and I've been thinking about it all day. The poet, Henry Dumas, only had a few works published during his short life and his work is considered part of the Black Arts Movement. He was also shot by a police officer in a subway station in 1968. Not much is known about his death, as there were no eyewitnesses and most evidence was lost. Beenish Ahmed wrote about Dumas for NPR's Code Switch in 2015. You can also read some of his work here. 

The universe shrank 
when you went away.
Every time I thought your name, 
stars fell upon me.

Details:
Stitches: back stitch
Thread palette: Sublime Stitching 703 (2 strands)