—For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction.
‍                  Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion

According to this law, if you ever feel
the entire world conspires against you,
there must be another world radiating
in your honor. And each part
of that world. And each part of each part.
The minke whale, the mountain peak,
the Swingline stapler on your desk.
All of them, holding you in their hearts.
The safety pin, the picture frame,
your father’s binoculars, the Mariana trench.
Applause and best wishes from each.
Because for every Eden from which
you’ve been expelled, there’s another, equal
in the opposite direction, where you are welcome.

Skeptical? Don’t believe me?
Have I made you roll your eyes so hard it feels
like they’ll bruise the inside of your head? Fine.
I didn’t make this law. Newton did.
So sit your ass down, science is teaching
a lesson. The lesson is that which cannot
be undone, is already undone. The ashes
unburn themselves until all that’s left
is a shivering forest. The wrecked motorcycle
hauls itself from the ravine and buzzes back
into traffic. The blood you believe
is on your hands has returned itself
to the body in which it belongs.

Is there a catch? Of course, there’s a catch!
This place exists, but I can’t tell you
how to get there. For that, I’m ashamed,
but every time I fail you, there will be
another guide, more than my equal, who will not.
A North Star. A tuning fork. A thermometer
whose contents forecast the arrival of the fever.
Everything on Earth bursting with love.
The road that will never appear,
and the next one that already has.