
Can you imagine waking up / every morning on a different planet,

each with its own gravity?

Slogging, wobbling, / wavering. Atilt

and out-of-sync / with all that moves / and doesn’t.

Through years of trial / and mostly error / did I study this unsteady way—

changing pills, adjusting the dosage, / never settling.

A long time we were separate, / O Earth,

but now you have returned to me.
Can you imagine waking up
every morning on a different planet,
each with its own gravity?
Slogging, wobbling,
wavering. Atilt
and out-of-sync
with all that moves
and doesn’t.
Through years of trial
and mostly error
did I study this unsteady way—
changing pills, adjusting the dosage,
never settling.
A long time we were separate,
O Earth,
but now you have returned to me.
—Elaine Equi