Poetry: Now they tell us

Science Daily News, May 20 ... "The earth wobbles in
space ... there were theories as to why this
happens, but no one could really prove it until ... "

Now they tell us that old earth is
wobbling. While all this time
I've thought it was my worn,
uneven sole, my rundown heel,
that caused my listing life.
But no, it is the moon, they say,
or sun, or seas that tug,
that hug the earth, 
that push each one of us
off kilter; so we lean, we tilt, 
we stumble as we walk 
our garden paths
from stone to stone,
from here to there, and
wonder at the slant.

Or could it be
salt water in our veins  
that sloshes as we walk, 
that tosses us in tidal waves,
or ripples running
dawn to evening's end, 
to where the moon-the sun-the sea
all hug the earth
and all trajectories blend?

I wonder if they're right

Or if it is my sole that's worn,
shoelaces pulled too tight,
or if it's simply that my path
is overgrown with weeds
that life has strewn
and days have drifted into night.

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Grayce Scholt is a retired English professor from Mott College who wrote art reviews for the Flint Journal. Her book of poetry, Bang! Go All the Porch Swings, is available online from Amazon and from Pages Bookstore in downtown Flint. A personal narrative of the poet's life in Europe in the early 1950s, Vienna, Only You, is available from the author at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .