I created Curvature of the Earth as a reflection on infinity, the looping nature of memory, and the cycles of pain and resolution that recur for our duration on this fragile blue marble. The story places the reader in the perspective of the cosmonaut and their journey from awe to agony to bliss. The structure of the poem begins and “ends” with the same phrase, “…and in a moment, all my agony turned to bliss”, the placement of the ellipsis at the beginning and “ending” is meant to connect them in a möbius loop where the piece never truly ends.

There is a true entry point, but there is no termination of the loop until the reader invokes their agency and disengages, as there is no predetermined termination of the piece. The purposeful use of each punctuation mark was carefully constructed to invoke a seamless flow of ends and beginnings that reinforces the textual themes and overall purpose of Curvature of the Earth.

I structured this poem to mirror its themes of time, transmutation and recursion. It consists of 7 stanzas, with the central stanza (“It won’t stop… It won’t stop.. It won’t stop.”) acting as the point of reflection, splitting the poem into symmetrical halves. The 4th stanza, the infection point and the climax, contains the only use of a period in the poem, the only final statement is “It won’t stop.” This reinforces the seeming finality of suffering, in contrast to the flowing non terminating stanzas that surround it. This reflects the true experience of pain, its feeling of endlessness, its inevitable resolution, and recursion of this cycle in life.

The punctuation is mirrored across the stanzas—semicolons, commas, and ellipses create a rhythm that mimics the ticking agony that melds with time, while it resolves into harmony at the end. Chaos becomes structure, and noise finds rhythm. The use of the opening and closing ellipses is particularly to the experience of this poem since they act as a bridge between the beginning and end, reinforcing the looping nature of memory, time, and emotion.

Curvature of the Earth is a reinterpretation of a monologue from the film Another Earth which was sampled in ODESZA’s “Intro” on their album “A Moment Apart”. I first heard this story of the Cosmonaut in “Intro” and it enamored me immediately and hasn’t relented in the years since its release. I aimed to expand upon the experience that moved me so deeply and add my own personal perspective to its lore. The previous tellings of this story were from 3rd person and removed from the cosmonaut’s internal perception; I moved it to 1st person as an act of inhabiting their view and making their experience as personal as it is existential. Curvature of the Earth expands on the perspective and introduces increased depth to the emotionality of the prior tellings, as well as serving as a trojan horse for the experience of an infinite loop.

This poem, its reinterpretation of, and its expansion upon the text introduced to me in ODESZA’s “Intro”is a reflection of my life experience as the cosmonaut. I found this story during a dark time and it gave me hope when I didn’t believe there was any more to be found. The story inspired in me enough strength to go on, and it gave me a path to freedom from the darkness; to turn my pain into something beautiful – to turn the “noise” into “music”.

The original story will always be irreplaceable to me, and that’s not what I profess Curvature of the Earth to do. Curvature of the Earth exists as a personal and existential expansion on the story that animated my creativity, gave me hope, and ultimately saved my life. This is an externalization of what the monologue from Another Earth meant to me, and a personal affirmation of what brought me to life in ODESZA’s “Intro”.

Curvature of the Earth is my life woven into the narrative that saved it. I hope it can offer others even a fraction of the wonder and hope it brought to me.