Day Twenty Three

Title: love, we have made good time even in bad weather

Sometime last year at work, one of our engineers said something in passing about a steady state angle. I had never heard this term before, and I asked him what it meant. His explanation was that it was the angle a certain substance always made in a pile. For example, sand. When you make a pile of sand, the angle it makes in relationship to the ground is always the same. For you science buffs out there, wind and weather will alter the steady state angle. And different types of sand have different steady state angles. I know. But for arguments sake, I was interested in the idea of the steady state angle as metaphor for bodies coming together.

***

Steady State Angle

love,
we have been bodies
inside bodies
on a highway headed south
with no space, no
outside between us.
I miss that.

they say
sand always piles up
at an angle of twenty-seven degrees

love,
we have made love
with our two bodies
in a snow-covered cornfield
near 200th Ave.
I miss this.

it is called a steady state angle

love,
we have been
coming to our senses
catching our breath.
I miss you.

it doesn’t matter how much sand there is

love,
we have made
good time even in
bad weather,
we have been lost
but still made it,
love,
we are here

the angle is always twenty seven degrees.

love,
we are here.