Saturday, 27 February 2010

Flat Earth


Flat Earth

Aristotle knew the earth wasn’t flat.
Ships don’t drop off the edge but slide from view
as gradually as new stars appear
as one travels south. And, not only that,
the summer solstice sun cast no shadow
at Syene, though Alexandria

had shade at the same time. The earth is curved,
as Eratosthenes could demonstrate
and did. Who also knew Egypt was hot
before the invention of temperature,
Farenheit, Celsius or centigrade.
And here is further proof that it is not:

It had to be like that – for space and time
demand that they turn back on themselves,
thus neither earth or universe are flat
when you set off in search of wealth or fame,
so young, promiscuous and vain, or else
you wouldn’t meet yourself on the way back.

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