Around the Sun – A Poem About Kindred Experiences Across Time
A comet just passed around the sun,
One that hasn’t visited us in over 1,500 years.
The last time it came around,
The Roman Empire was falling.
As it comes back around,
I sit in a park, in the sun, with bare feet in the grass
Amid the collapse of the American Empire.
As I bask in the gentle light filtering through the trees,
and listen to the soft rustle of wind in the leaves,
I wonder.
Was there a person in Rome all those centuries ago
With their feet to the ground,
Listening to whispering leaves and feeling the sun’s gentle caress,
While also feeling the weight of uncertainty for the future,
And the fear of living through societal upheaval?
I’m as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow,
Someone was doing the same thing as I was,
The last time the comet came around.
I am confident,
For finding little moments of joy and peace, and feeling alive is a wholly human endeavor.
And as the comet kisses the sun as if welcoming an old friend,
The sun kisses me on this beautiful day,
The same way it did to those doing the same thing I am,
Many lifetimes ago.
Just as it will continue for many lifetimes from now,
Even if the comet doesn’t come around again.
(Note about the poem continues after the ad)
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Note About the Poem
I wrote this poem on April 4th, on an exceptionally beautiful day. I had driven to Boulder City for business, and when I was walking back to my car, I decided to sit in the small park that I had parked by. It was very spur of the moment, as if the trees and their dancing leaves were personally beckoning me. I sat on a bench, with soft, late-afternoon sunlight hitting me as the sun started going behind the ridge. I got the idea to take my shoes off and put my feet on the Earth, and just breathe, and just be.
The comet I’d heard about came to mind, and how the last time it visited the Roman Empire was falling. I thought about how properly human it was to be in such a moment, and how kindred it was to be doing the same things someone else was doing so many lifetimes ago, under relatively similar circumstances.
Feeling inspired, I pulled out my notebook and wrote this poem on the spot.
I had posted it to our IG story, and didn’t realize until now that I had forgotten to type it out and post here too.
Amending the Poem
While writing the poem here, I remembered that there was a chance the comet didn’t survive its passage by the sun. So I looked up what its fate was.
Sadly, it did indeed perish in its approach. So I had to adjust the end of the poem, which alluded to the expectation of it coming around again, before I learned there was a chance it wouldn’t or that its journey had ended.
I don’t know what people would say that means astrologically or spiritually speaking, but I still believe that even if the comet won’t be around in another 1,500 years, I have faith that we still will be. And I have faith that someone will be sitting in the sun, listening to wind in the leaves, and putting their feet to the Earth, and just existing amid something major impacting them, all the same.
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