Great Circle

by Maggie Shipstead

Circles are wondrous because they are endless. Anything endless is wondrous. But endlessness is torture, too. I knew the horizon could never be caught but still chased it. What I have done is foolish; I had no choice but to do it.

I thought I would become more than I am, but instead I know I am less than I thought.

One thing I learned is that you don’t just love a person, you love a vision of your life with them. And then you have to mourn both.