89. The Revolution

Russia built its empire.

Revolution rumors flowed in Europe.

Newton,

Hobbes,

Locke,

Milton,

Many others looked at the world, thinking of it in different ways.

The American colonies got rich.

New agriculture increased food production.

Music reached its height as Mozart played.

Beethoven, Hayden and many others.

New ideas.

New art.

New thoughts

Caused the flames to rise.

From the ancient past

Athens with its small flame.

The flame of freedom.

It split and spread into Rome.

Stayed hidden in the Dark Ages.

Resurrected and grew.

It reached across the sea to the colonies of the New World.

Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Adams,

Many other disciples of freedom

Fanned the flames of descent.

The flames of revolution.

The fires grew

To the drumbeat of war.

Swiftly, the fire spread

Through Europe

Into the other colonies.

They took their destiny from their brutish king.

Breaking the chains of taxation

Making themselves representatives.

The eagle flew from the nest.

Others wanted the chance to fly.

The fires of freedom spread across the world

Burning out of control.

It spread through the minds and hearts of people

Many got burned

Meeting the scorching blade of the guillotine.

A French republic was formed

But, as with the first European Republic,

It didn’t last.

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.