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The early view was that the
wandering planets were
Winged beings who moved at
will through dark skies
Though now it's known
they move in
orbits.
Constraining forces hold
their paths to circular,
Elliptical or slow spiraling
around their centers
Though not so neat as plots
on printed charts
ascribe.
Each planet brings in train
its circling moons
To apogee and epigee where
bending space
Brings tidal flux to bear on
mantel rock and molten
core.
These wanderings diverge;
for each force
Pulls the others out of
round and
Close encounters shape the
curve of distant
circuits.
Some objects burn through
upper atmospheres
And some swerve into the
trackless space between
the stars or find another
stellar home to
circle.
So local chaos is contained
in balanced force
And stable patterns seem to
fit the human scale
But orbits deep in space-time
wander with apparent
will.
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