Observations and Insights on the Nature of Things
This monthly column features brief essays, poems, poetic micro essays and photography
by Eve West Bessier, Poet Laureate Emerita of Silver City and Grant County, New Mexico.
Look for a new post every first Friday.
Curvature
Just beyond the flower garden,
at the end of the lawn,
the curvature of the earth begins.
– Billy Collins,
United States Poet Laureate Emeritus
The curvature of the earth
is subtle, gradual,
mostly unnoticed.
Except when we stare
out to sea and can’t see
beyond the hazy horizon
due to the curvature
of the earth.
Once upon a time,
it was believed
that the world was flat
and that horrific creatures
and horrendous consequences
faced anyone who sailed
beyond that hazy horizon,
anyone who dared
to disappear from view.
We now know
that what lies beyond
the horizon is just
a further horizon.
We can never reach
that mysterious line
of sight, no matter
how far we traverse.
The curvature of the earth
is best expressed
as a mathematical formula.
Height equals the convolution
of radius times
one minus cosine angle,
and is accurate
for any distance (d).
h = r * (1 – cos a)
Were we to walk methodically
around the entire surface
of the globe at the equator,
with all topographical features
flattened so that our track
was straight and level,
our footpath would be
a 40,030 kilometer circle.
Flattening the equatorial
terrain, already bulging
at its middle due to
the planet’s fast rotation,
is insanely improbable.
The peak of Mt. Chimborazo,
located one degree south
of the equator in Ecuador,
rises 20,564 feet, and
equatorial Mt. Kenya
peaks at 17,057.
Thanks to the sailors
who overcame their
fear of the unknown
long ago, we now know
that the earth is not flat.
Neither is its surface,
which is dented and dimpled,
like the skin of an orange.
It’s misshapen, jagged,
mobile and unpredictable,
a super thin membrane
enclosing violent
forces of change.
Over eons, the earth’s surface
has morphed, melted, frozen,
been instantly microwaved,
and blasted by meteors
the size of Manhattan.
With due respect to you,
honorable Dr. Collins,
whose poems I treasure,
the curvature of the earth
waits for no lawn to end.
It begins exactly
where you and I stand,
poets at our windows
looking out to the horizon.
Photo Credit: Driving to the VLA (Very Large Array), Eve West Bessier, 2020
The curvature of the earth is apparent in low-hanging clouds over New Mexico’s vast landscapes.
