James Richardson

MOMENTUM

At our temperate latitude,
the Earth is spinning at 800 miles per hour.
It's smooth, no roaring in the wind.
We move, we speak easily.
But every once in a while
two who were walking side by side
spin out, shattering in smoke,
like jets whose wingtips touch.
And now and then, seemingly randomly,
someone falls and does not get up,
and recedes with terrible velocity.

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