by Matt Zambito
“One of the biggest revelations is that the Earth and Moon
are slowly drifting apart at the rate that fingernails grow,
or 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) per year. This widening gap
is the result of gravitational interactions between the two.”
—from a NASA statement released August 10, 2020
Alas, this celestial couple is
separating, capitulating to
entropy’s choler at solar-systemic
stability and the adoration one
heavenly body can hold
for another. Their breakup,
though, slow as it goes, bores me
silly compared to the glory
of knowing the water (nudged by
our lunar partner) cresting over
my hands as I swim in the Gulf
washes away molecular bits from
dactyl-digits at a rate no one
can sense happening—each human
mind as glided apart from
the now it observes and orbits in
as Pangaea from today’s plate-
and ocean-divided continents.
When our natural satellite
lets go fully and coasts into
the unknown of Time’s infinite
tomorrows, the only statement
released will be the wave
of a forever’s final goodbye.