EZEKIEL'S WHEEL

		by Edward Nelson

	The planets and the moons that Galileo saw
	Revolve and move within a groove
	That always will endure;
	They never cease to flow in peace,
	Predictable and sure:
	They are a wheel that turns by certain law.

	The atoms when they meet perform a wilder dance ---
	They intertwine and recombine
	In long concatenations,
	With sudden bump and quantum jump
	In radiant fulminations: 
	They are a wheel that turns by ordered chance.

	The leopard, if he leaps or crouches waiting still,
	Knows loss or gain and pleasure-pain
	Within his brutish musing ---
	To jump his prey or go away
	Decides of his own choosing:
	He is a wheel that turns by innate will.

	My woman, when she sings with joyful glowing face
	Our spirits lift to meet the gift
	And share in exaltation ---
	She reaches out to fear and doubt
	In loving conversation:
	She is a wheel that turns by God's own grace.