Earthset

Barren desert. Hanging rock.

In an endless dance with us — falling together, never to land.

Quiet place. Distant and strange.

Revered throughout history, god-like you move oceans.

You present one face to the world; the other you keep hidden.

Why? Are you ashamed of its old and pockmarked surface?

Like a concrete wall scarred by machine-gun fire.

Or are you just surreptitious?

We spent four billion to see that side of you.

To learn and be inspired by you.

To be awed by you.

To be reminded how small and fragile and alone we are.

You were born with us. Born out of violence.

Intense and molten. Heat that vaporised rock.

Now cold. Stoic in your silence.

While we spin toward a precipice;

Enlightenment. Annihilation.

We appoint you arbiter and toss a coin,

And our dance continues, unbroken.