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\centerline{\bf Ezekiel's Wheel}\smallskip

\centerline{by Edward Nelson}\bigskip

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.
\medskip

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.
\medskip

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.
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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.
\bye
