Part two of this weekend's TIVA trifecta. Warning: Zaedah's thick and juicy metaphors ahead...
Convergence of the Twain
Till the Spinner of the Years said "Now!" And each one hears,
And consummation comes and jars two hemispheres.
The Convergence of the Twain
by Thomas Hardy
They are two planets…
…Orbiting in wary circles, each categorizing the existence and threat that lies in the other. Parts of the whole are similar, shared pieces are recognizable from a distance and curiosity diminishes portions of the space between. Still, the differences are greater than the commonalities and this keeps the spinning worlds eager at the poles but cautious at the core. Their twisting rotations never synchronize and they twirl in a stubborn randomness both unsatisfying and unproductive. For too long they have done little else and are unprepared to force themselves off the expected track. Because though each is occasionally close enough to share a single atmosphere, their relentless rotation sets them on the scheduled path back to the further point, separate galaxies in the vacuum. But only and always for a time. And all things that spin must face the opposition eventually – constantly - until the pull of favorable gravity tilts them off their axis just enough for patterns to change, for the circular course to stretch into an elliptical trajectory. When rapid velocity no longer pleases, the turning slows so they might linger longer in the presence of tightening cohesion. Each planet has its own sun, neither bright enough on its own to illuminate sufficiently. But the fusion of lights lends radiance to the dark of both worlds.
They are two hemispheres…
…marked with explicit boundaries, each an independent half of a broken whole. Shifting plates push them forward and propelling them ever back. Coexisting in mutual space with escalating interest, frequent conflicts for dominion become increasingly violent while cementing a tacit dependence in the aftershocks. Both fear subduction but are desperate to simply move. One must always conquer the other and relenting grows easier with practice. And when static gives way to motion, the resulting friction roughens the growing bond until the discomfort reaches agony, forcing them into dormancy to accelerate healing. Division never lasts and the two converge once more, coveting the familiar abrasion that inflicts less pain each time. Affinity quickens the mending and they slowly achieve an understanding of movement, discovering that striding in unison brings softer transitions. Their positions are mapped out carefully and while skirmishes still invade the other's boundary, the damage is muted because the intention gains in kindness daily. There is no right or wrong placement, no battles over who will steer. There is but one direction and once they stop fighting the current, the plates shift ever more compliantly into an arrangement of unity.
They are two plateaus…
…rising mighty over the well-tread ground, viewing the world below with the detachment of those who long to be part of the fray but fear the fall. They stand too near at times and yet whole valleys may pass between them. Terminally reliant on the lie, they blink just enough bring truth into focus before looking away. But as all uneven surfaces, the sands of life grind the dueling plains down to something approaching symmetry. And slowly they achieve similar levels of being, cautiously probing the crevices gouged by betrayals until each bleeds. Yet for the pain, the flow is curative. The eventual merging of intents leads in measured steps to the fusion between divergent souls. What is missing in each is suffused by the other, a fixing at the jagged edges and a filling at the shallow points. It is as though the voice of the supreme has commanded 'now' and they, lacking the will to alter what had begun without their notice, shake off the roots that have bound them and leave this stationary existence. In the beginning, they were planets separated by mistrust, hemispheres divided by the hostility and plateaus alienated by inflexibility. In the end, they are none of these and more. What was a two is one in the convergence.