I Am a Ptolemaic Astronomer

I Am a Ptolemaic Astronomer

I am a Ptolemaic astronomer
staring ceaselessly at the night sky
trying to predict
where Venus will land

convinced that the Earth
is the mother
the center of the universe
I keep adjusting my hypothesis
changing my values
amending my expectations

scribbling drawings
on notepads
plotting fictional patterns
in nature
turning science
to prose

adding
epi-cycle upon
epi-cycle
until Venus is spinning
madly over and
out of control
in the sky

epi-cycle upon
epi-cycle

drawing chalk lines in the shape of an egg
rolling the dice, trying to
abolish chance
(but a roll of the dice
will never abolish
chance)

We are Ptolemaic astronomers
ceaselessly staring
at the night sky
telling lies
about Venus.

epi-cycle upon
epi-cycle