Tuesday, April 3, 2012

88. The Enlightenment


In a humble workshop
When Copernicus made his deathbed statement
Causing public debate.
“The planets were not right,”
He said
As he drew up the new cosmos.
The church felt threatened.
But what could be done?
Tycho Brahe,
Kepler too
Made changes to the cosmos.
The pope was angry.
No one was to challenge the church
There was no evidence
So the challengers were cleared by conjecture.
Galileo, on the other hand,
Favorite of  a new pope
Polished his telescope
To gaze at the stars
Found that Copernicus was right
About what he said with Mars.
His findings published
Became the new church’s challenge.
Another pope said “Ah ha!”
“I got you, you pesky things.”
Then he sentenced Galileo
To live at home
For the crime of heresy.
Over time the church cooled down.
They became more accepting.
While Newton dropped new laws and math
With the bright red apples
Of alchemy
Of chemistry
Of calculus
To calculate Galileo’s orbits.
An explosion of thought
Bursted out of Europe.
Creating new ideas,
Philosophies and change.

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