In Christ There Is No East or West

In Christ there is no south or north that isn’t temporary

(The poles’ reversing aperiodic, see: magnetohydrodynamics)

In Christ there is magnetohydrodynamics

This is a roundabout way of saying

In Christ there is a roundabout, a rotary, a cloverleaf

No candlepin bowling league on Tuesday nights

No grand hotel foundation moldering into the State Forest 

No mini-golf course with eighteen replicas of America’s Favorite Par Fours

No epilimnion, no metalimnion, no hypolimnion

(In Christ all layers of the lake are the lake)

In Christ there is no south x southeast or north x northwest

(The moon’s drifting away-ward, see: conservation of angular momentum)

In Christ there is conservation of angular momentum as long as net torque is zero

This is the centering hymn of astronomers that keeps the notion of center spinning

In Christ or not in Christ, wherever, whenever

Michael Metivier is an editor at Merriam-Webster and lives with his family in Vermont. His work has appeared in journals including Poetry, Kenyon Review, Prairie Schooner, and Orion