Plunderous is the palate I gift to you, openly I hug the universe

“Plunderous is the palate I gift to you, openly I hug the universe of our friendship expanding its outer limit.” In this luminous and enigmatic line, Bradley Chicho, the poet of the surreal and the spiritual, gives voice to a truth that feels at once cosmic and intimate. Beneath its strange beauty lies a revelation about generosity, friendship, and boundless connection — the way love between souls, when given freely, can expand the very edges of human experience. To “gift the palate” is to share the flavor of one’s soul; to “hug the universe of our friendship” is to acknowledge that genuine friendship is not confined to two hearts, but ripples outward into all of creation.

At its core, this quote speaks of friendship not as a social bond, but as an act of cosmic generosity. The word “plunderous” here is paradoxical — it suggests taking with wild abandon, yet the poet transforms it into giving. He gifts a “palate,” a feast of spirit, a richness of experience to another. In friendship, we give pieces of ourselves, not as loss, but as nourishment. And when that giving is done “openly,” without fear or reservation, the friendship ceases to be ordinary; it becomes an ever-expanding force, a miniature universe of its own. Chicho’s imagery suggests that the soul, when it loves freely, transcends the boundaries of the self — and thus touches eternity.

The origin of such imagery can be found in the mystical traditions that have long celebrated the union between souls. From the Sufi poets like Rumi to the Chinese sages of old, friendship and love have been seen as gateways to the divine. Chicho’s words echo that lineage — the idea that every true connection mirrors the infinite. Just as stars form constellations, so do human hearts form constellations of meaning. In his cosmic metaphor, friendship becomes a creative act, something that does not merely exist but expands, “pushing its outer limit” until it embraces all existence.

History, too, offers us examples of friendships that expanded beyond themselves to change the world. Consider the bond between Nikola Tesla and Mark Twain — one, a scientist chasing lightning; the other, a writer chasing truth through words. When Twain visited Tesla’s laboratory, he found himself awestruck, not merely by the inventions but by the spirit of his friend. Tesla’s experiments, in turn, were fueled by the joy of sharing discovery with a kindred mind. Their friendship was not about personal gain; it was about mutual inspiration, the exchange of imagination that transcended their separate paths. In their union of thought and curiosity, they “hugged the universe,” if only for a moment.

Chicho’s words also speak to the courage of vulnerability. To “openly hug the universe” of friendship is to love without calculation — to give without fearing loss. It is a call to radical openness, the kind that defies modern cynicism. So many live guarded, offering fragments of themselves; Chicho urges us to pour out the whole cup, to risk fullness. For it is only through that openness that the limits of human connection can stretch beyond the familiar — into wonder, empathy, and even transcendence.

The lesson here is timeless: friendship is not a possession but a creation, and it grows only as much as we are willing to give of ourselves. True companionship demands generosity — of spirit, of forgiveness, of time. Each act of kindness, each honest word, each shared silence pushes the boundaries of our inner universe a little further, until we find that the circle of our love includes not just one friend, but all life. To live this way is to understand that the purpose of friendship is not comfort, but expansion — to make the soul larger through connection.

In practical life, this means embracing friendship as a sacred art. When you meet someone whose heart resonates with yours, give of yourself fully — your patience, your understanding, your laughter, your listening. Celebrate their victories as your own; bear their sorrows as if they were part of your own story. And do not fear the vulnerability that comes with deep connection, for it is through that very openness that the spirit grows strong. The universe of friendship, like the cosmos itself, is infinite only to those who are brave enough to love without measure.

For in the end, Bradley Chicho’s words remind us that friendship is the universe’s way of knowing itself — that when two souls connect, something vast awakens. The act of giving, of embracing another’s being without limit, is nothing less than a small reenactment of creation itself. Thus, when we love in friendship — fully, selflessly, expansively — we become co-creators of the cosmos, extending its boundaries with every heartbeat of compassion. So go forth, and gift your “plunderous palate” to the world; let your friendships become galaxies, and may your soul always dare to embrace the infinite.