The earth is round

The earth is round 

by NJTownes 

Now begets the donning of skin

Donning of toughness and sensitivity

Anticipation and the some-things

Of busy preparations

Perhaps the earth is round

And that which is the end

May be the only beginning

Like a time of now on a full plate of dear ol’ sweet, dirty-Jerz

[Dare I even write that aloud]?

And vacant buckets in loom

Longing for Costa Rica

Perhaps the earth is round

And that which is the end

May be the only beginning

And my intent is to sail around the world

With a mind to pimp-slap Columbus

Really prove that the earth is round

Equality on all sides—

Perhaps the earth is round

And that which is the end

May be the only beginning

Not long ago, we were convinced she was flat.

Some are still.

But to globe-anctify

Build balance without enslavement or unyielding angles.

Perhaps the earth is round

And that which is the end

May be the only beginning

Like travel with journals of love accompanying

The roundness of earth like a dance in one hand, a song in the other

And in the third—nothing—just a hand left open

For forth-giving and reception like,

An earth that is round;

That which is the end

May be the only beginning

I am weary of ends, but I trust the roundness of her seasons

Like a winter finale, travel beginning—both celebration and mourning;

And yet, in this moment, no imaginings bring more grandeur expressions

Of authentic liveliness

Perhaps the earth is round

And that which is the end

May be the only beginning

Winter and travel

Dissuasion and persuasion,

Fully knee-deep in movement,

Life, otherness, and pause

She is round like good book-ends

And that which is the end

May be the only beginning

Hence the need for two arms interlocking at will

For the salvation of a hug

Warming spirits hung in winters

Extending sunlight moments longer, day by day.

My sister Earth really is round

My dreams are dreamer’s dreams,

But that which is the end…

 By NJTownes