I have passed by you before
As we both circle this rock that circles the sun
Friendly encounters, cheerful conversation
How’s that orbit treating you?
Did you see the storm cell over Bali?
In fact, these days it seems
Our paths are crossing more and more
Each time it’s easier and easier
To inch closer, linger a moment longer
Before our paths take us apart again.
I’ve crept too close--
A gentle nudge, a touch like heaven
But it has upset my orbit--
Not much, but just enough.
They say you’ll know when you start to fall;
Though it is slight, I can feel gravity’s pull
And I know it is only a matter of time--
I will circle ever closer toward that gaseous mantle
That blankets the world below
Until at last the atmosphere welcomes me
With open arms and a fiery embrace.
My doom is set
But that touch still burns in my mind
And I reach for you without thinking
Then freeze--
I will not drag you to my fate
I will not pull you down with me!
A soft hand slips tenderly into mine
My momentum tugs you out of your perfect orbit--
You know of the fate that awaits as well as I
Yet you choose it anyway.
The path now draws us down
But it is a path we will travel together:
Eventually we will meet the atmosphere
Lighting up the sky as it strips us bare
Strips us to nothingness
But as we blaze into the glorious unknown
Down below, they will see our trail through the sky
Cast their wishes on us in our final moments
And marvel.