Far, far above them, a planet that is not earth hangs majestically, its hard barren surface drawing its own kind of warmth from the icy blanket of dark hollow space. The planet is kept from an utter and unending loneliness by only a few things, one of which is the sound of its own rotation echoing through the unrolling black abyss, which speaks to it like the voice of a mother to her unborn child. The stars, though distant, are another source of comfort, who serve the planet as the sparkling text to an ancient and geometrically perfect prose, narrating the meaning of why each thing has been and shall always be positioned exactly where it is. But the most prized of the planet’s few possessions, are its moons; its precious, precious moons, each a charismatically sculpted jewel, each its own uniquely formed answer to the question of beauty.
The planet is distracted from its loneliness primarily by the attention given to these moons; in its tireless work towards their care. This mighty rock holds the smaller spherical jewels in its gravity, smoothly revolving them and easing them firmly around its own orbit, such that the entire surface of their bodies are exposed to the light and heat of the sun. The planet does so without rest, as these moons are its only instructor on the subject of love. It is an exercise in gentility and discipline for this planet, massive and mighty, for it must be perfectly wise in its exerted gravity so as to preserve the orbit of its coveted celestial companions. If the gravity of the planet is too strong, then the moons shall either crash into violent obliteration against its surface, or be repelled into the arms of infinite space, sent along a path from which nothing returns.
In nature, such examples exist in abundance: the natural magnetism of two objects – their inherent will to push and pull – fixing their degree of companionship at a specific, harmonious distance. Whether we might give the name of emotion or love to describe these forces of relationship, is arguable; but perhaps unimportant. What can be said is that such entities as planets have been ordained with mastery over their own gravity; while tragically, human beings rarely graduate beyond mere amateurs in their ability to negotiate the attractive forces that bind and repel them. For human intimacy is too a matter of magnetism, with its own terrible risk of violent collision or irretrievable loss.
- JieSong Zhang (October - November'06)
