The Dust Did Roar

(Or Longing for Euclid)

Goodbyes are hard,
but so are hellos.

Quickly you begin,
to feel their warmth.

Remembering the Light,
that you shared.

Once you were entwined,
dancing the Elliptical dance.

In your eyes, they were the Sun
that birthed the day.

But somehow,
you became broken.

Two intersected lines
in a Euclidean void.

Destined to meet,
then forever be parted.

But here they approach,
and now you know.  

Your loss will be lifted
but all too quickly returned.

So give in,
drink in their radiance.

You will have need of it
for the voyage ahead.

A trek across,
the elliptic firmament

Lonely,
but filled with memory.

The only thing I remember from studying Romeo and Juliet in high school was learning the true definition of ‘star crossed lovers’. I originally thought it meant two people who were destined to be together, but it was explained to me that it actually meant a couple that are fated to be parted.

At a later point in my life, the above definition sparked a thought about the nature of straight lines in classical Euclidian geometry. In this type of space, any pair of straight lines that are not parallel will intersect exactly once and never again. To me this sounded like the true meaning of ‘star-crossed’. Lovers to meet and then be forever parted.

But the real world isn’t Euclidian, and in most cases, romantic relationships are not ‘star-crossed’. Very often you will run into previous partners again long after things ended. The feelings that this type of interaction can spark are complicated and sometimes difficult to process.

People change over time, get into new relationships, acheive new successes etc. The desire to ‘win the breakup’ is an idea that we often think of when interacting with previous partners.

But this isn’t a healthy way of interacting with anyone, and just leads to feelings of resentment and hurt.

We are all complex bodies moving through space-time. Our paths will cross but we should not cling too tightly to others lest we fall into a collapsing orbit from which we cannot escape.