the gift of an ancient collision

it’s good to be a bit off

because the Earth tilts in relation to the Sun,

those of us in the middle latitudes have seasons,

our year exists with constantly shifting daylight hours,

so plants have to deal with freezing cold and burning heat,

with the phase change of water

that leaves us with sleeping dormant forests in winter,

and gives us the glorious regeneration of spring,

it’s all because we’re a bit off,

it’s the Earth off-center that lets life be particularly interesting.

by Henry H. Walker

October 23, ‘15