Voices : 2001 Jan : A Tide Between

"A Tide Between"
(composed 2001 Feb 16, about 1:15 pm, somewhere in Newton, PA)

Two bodies whirl past each other,
reaching across the void
tugging at each other's centers
pulling each other into a dance
they circle a common center

	If things were simple, if they were simple
	The dance would be eternal
	A balance between come-hither
	And keep-away
	That turns attraction to stability.

But they are not simple, point-like and pristine
For each, the center is an abstraction
A hypothetical about which they
have become arranged
And so things are not simple.

Some parts are near together
and yearn to be nearer still
Other parts are moving too fast for comfort
and desire more space between

	There is a tide between them
	A differential attraction that
	Kneads their very cores
	Generating stress and heat
	Reshaping their depths and
	The faces they show outside.

The force pulling them together
Also tears each one apart