Alluvial barometrics reveal a certain hesitation (とある逡巡) in the amity between those celestial histrionics
I started this poem from the words "alluvial barometrics" because they sounded really good in my head. When I started writing it, I didn't know what alluvial meant exactly. I looked it up and realized it meant, loosely, "of or relating to dirt," which would go on to help form the rest of the poem.
"A certain hestitation" sounds awesome, and is a good lead-in to the next part. I threw in the Japanese (to aru shunjun, "a certain hesitation") to enhance the idea that this might be an internationally-aimed science report, as implied by the initial language.
"Amity" is a weird, ambiguous way to refer to friendship, fellow-feeling, or general goodwill. I like to be vague with these things, to increase the chances of the reader associating with an emotional event in her own life.
"Those celestial histrionics" says a lot in a few words. We're talking about specific bodies in space, here, and they're kind of showy and dramatic. Histrionic is a real weird word to use to talk about stuff in space, so it begins the work of personifying the subjects.
In spite of the mutual eccentricity of their respective orbits, in spite of every astronomically intuited projection, in spite of the prolonged annulment of the proposed heliofaction of this perfect binary system
"Mutual eccentricity" refers to an orbit's eccentricity, or its deviation from a perfect circle. Mutual lends us the first real idea that these orbiting bodies are interacting in some way.
"Astronomically intuited projection" throws in the idea that something truly unexpected is happening, important since astronomy is normally so extremely predictable (at least, when it comes to motion)
"Prolonged annulment of the proposed heliofaction" is a doozy. Heliofaction is a Latin-Greek hybrid monster of a word I coined which can probably mean "creation of a sun". That creation, it seems, is something that should have happened already, but hasn't for some reason yet to be revealed.
"Perfect binary system" begins to describe the actual nature of the orbiting bodies -- they're orbiting each other. Taken with the preceding clause, we can suppose that these two bodies were meant to form a star, but haven't.
All readings point to a flawed view of gravitation, a blistered syllabus, and numerous lunar and satellitical (satellite, rhymes with appellate?) demises, a cut brakeline in the vehicle of knowledge
"Flawed view of gravitation" is freaky! Gravity is supposed to be pretty well understood, at least at the level of large objects in space.
"Blistered syllabus" should cause any teacher to shudder. The very notion of all that knowledge getting all messed up, oh me oh my. Our preconceived notions may not be correct, and what we thought of as authority may simply be ignorance mixed with confidence.
"Numerous lunar and satellitical demises" implies more upsets in this closed system. Things are going crazy!
"A cut brakeline in the vehicle of knowledge" is meant to give you the sense that this series of developments is not only out of control, but outside mortal comprehension
Theory passes into law passes into myth passes into theology, theo in, theo out, until the unwise heretics cast it off and reclaim the mantle
"Theo in, theo out" makes the startling case that our efforts to understand things scientifically is the root of religious belief.
"The unwise heretics cast it off and reclaim the mantle" continues the cyclical theme, using religious revolution as a metaphor for the evolution of knowledge
That self-same mantle, your glorious fundament, that so affected my periapsis, that so imperiled the inherent stability of systems
"That self-same mantle, your glorious fundament" is a fun few plays on words. A mantle can be both a great responsibility, and the geologic strata of a planet between the surface and the core. A fundament can be both the stuff a thing is made of, and also slang for a posterior.
"That so affected my periapsis" refers to the periapsis, or lowest point of an orbit. An essential thing to remember is that, when referring to orbits, low is synonymous with close.
On tectonic shudders, on geologic pauses, on the impassivity of terrain, you rely
"Tectonic shudders", or earthquakes, are immense and violent.
"Geologic pauses" are very long, as is anything on a geologic time scale.
"The impassivity of terrain" is in reference to something's, or someone's, unmoving features.
And my surface so unkindly pocked and furrowed, and my aura that of frenzied, unkempt gases
"My surface so unkindly pocked and furrowed" could be about impacts from meteors, or simply cruel treatment.
"My aura that of frenzied, unkempt gases" evokes the visuals of Jupiter and its great, spinning storms, and something of mania.
And my core a sickly solid stack of cruel, unbalanced certitudes, a leaden impossibility
I'm not really sure what I was getting at here. I guess planetary cores can be made of lead.
All to spin once more, together and apart
Forward and backward, attracting, repulsing
Things get a little micro here. There is a nice symmetry between the very large and very tiny, and I play up "attracting, repulsing" for dramatic purposes. We have gone from planets to atoms and subatoms, and the rules are startlingly similar. So it goes for relationships great and small.
Entropically trusting, affecting, depending, wavering ectopically
"Entropically trusting, affecting, depending" relates to the concept of entropy, whereby, it can be argued, all systems must inevitably slow and come to an end.
"Wavering ectopically" presents a pleasant similarity of sound, and refers to something moving out of place, to where it should not be.
Alluvial barometrics suggest a profoundly enigmatic set of personal developments
"Alluvial barometrics suggest" brings us back, but instead of the cold scientific report stating a new fact, we have a quieter, more questioning tone.
"Profoundly enigmatic" means, as before, that things are tremendously unexpected. So unexpected that we could not even have expected not to understand them. It is outside of our grasp.
"Set of personal developments" is an admission that this was never really about planets at all.
a new gravity for me and you
A new paradigm for personal interaction.
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