Grab's Gravity Glue
Hail to the Rocks!
Walking alongside a creek a few years ago I noticed something like a cairn, except it was an architectural feat. Rocks arranged into arches and counterbalances without any adhesive. It seemed outside the laws of gravity. I was entranced. I then contacted Michael Grab, the creator of these magical pieces to ask his permission to publish a poem I had written along with the pictures you see here. He graciously approved. Thank you, Michael, for sharing your talent and enriching our lives with awe.
Escaping Gravity
Suspended.
In this world,
not of it.
I release
the anchors,
those great, earthly concerns that
trap our spirits and
ground our flight.
Fused with stillness
from some sacred realm,
I shape the impossible
and place the precarious in
Nature, who both applauds
and shrugs. Like a wise parent,
she is proud but not surprised
at her child’s creation.
About a year later, to my astonishment, I came upon Michael intently focused on building one of his impossible rock formations in a shallow river. A few people had gathered on the banks nearby to watch him, as did I. We wouldn’t dare interrupt him. Even breathing seemed like a step into the danger zone of collapse. When he was finished, I introduced myself as the person who had contacted him months before about the poem and pictures. His quiet, hesitant response revealed some vague recollection of the event. He eventually managed to muster, “oh yes”. Whether the memory went into his archives or his trash bin is a mystery that will confound the world for eternity…no doubt.
I asked myself two questions. How can rocks be simultaneously heavy, solid and ethereal? And, is there something to learn about being less memorable than a rock? Yes. Much.
It’s perspective. You might recognize the famous “Earthrise” photo taken by astronaut Bill Anders on Christmas Eve, 1968, during the Apollo 8 mission. It was the first time the earth had been photographed by a human from this vantage in space. Astronauts say traveling through space and seeing our planet from that perspective changes them. They henceforth see themselves as citizens of earth more than individual countries.
This fascinating video, To Scale: Time, elegantly depicts this concept of perspective. How long have humans existed within the timeline of the universe? The human brain isn’t equipped to grasp the measurement. But if the years are visualized as distance, we can actually see how much of that distance has been occupied by humans. The answer at the end is poignant and humbling.
Here we are with our noses in our phones, participating in social media, scrolling, swiping, addicting ourselves to attention – wanting it or giving it, rarely ignoring it. Wrapped up in ourselves. We’re on the third rock from the sun. Being less memorable than a rock is eminently appropriate, given that the rock was here millions of years before we were and will continue to be here long after we are gone. And forgotten.
But while we are here, let us honor the ubiquitous rocks and try to emulate the ones that hold sparkling secrets of breathtaking beauty inside.
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