F = Gm1m2 / r2

by Ryan Stone

'It's gravity, baby',

that's how it started--

three whispered words

under the bleachers,

two bodies

pulled into orbit.

From tongues of flame

halting caterwauls

breathlessly

stumbled

before cascading into long,
thirsty nights of lying thisclose
seeking new worlds,

unexplored places,

beneath a peeping-tom moon.

There's a point during free-fall

when you pause to consider

whether to brace

or just to surrender;

for a heartbeat or two

you feel like you're floating,

then the ground rushes up

to show you how endings

can sound like
beginnings--

but that's

just gravity,

baby.

~ Ryan Stone