How many centuries are in a yard?
Whether millennia stretch their strands intact or
Continents drift forever is a factor
To fix the magnitude of my regard.
Jewelry must be the way to go;
Out of an ordinary box — the miracle
Of lustrums encapsulated in a glow:
A bit of empyrean from the empirical.
How many tera-, terrae, zeros are in it?
Counting up all the presents I owe,
Presents, pasts, and futures on the ecliptic show
One pendant Earth, monolithic and exquisite.
Counter – Both one who counts and a display case.
Lustrum – A period of 5 years (derived from the ancient Roman census); sounds like “luster.”
Tera – A prefix meaning 1012, 1 followed by 12 zeros; comes after mega (106) and giga (109).
Terrae – Plural of terra, “lands, Earths.”
Ecliptic – The apparent path of the Sun through the stars during the year.