this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2026
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I actually thought the last word was "flat" but I guess I misread it the first time 😵💫 completely changes the tone.
One way, it's like it doesn't matter what ignoramuses believe—reality is what it is; the other way it's like the powerful make the reality through force.
What are the stars? They are bits of fire a few kilometres away.
We could reach them if we wanted to. Or we could blot them out.
The earth is the centre of the universe. The sun and the stars go round it.
For certain purposes, of course, that is not true. When we navigate the ocean, or when we predict an eclipse, we often find it convenient to assume that the earth goes round the sun and that the stars are millions upon millions of kilometres away.
But what of it?
Do you suppose it is beyond us to produce a dual system of astronomy?
The stars can be near or distant, according as we need them.
Do you suppose our mathematicians are unequal to that?
Have you forgotten doublethink?
I think having the final word be "flat" makes it so much better. It opens up the poem to a much wider set of interpretations. There's yours, but you can also derive this statement about male dominance in hetero relationships, for example.
Oh yeah totally, the poem is already so gendered.
The "he" and "she" lend themselves to commenting on cishet dynamics, patriarchy; related incumbent power structures in the way "he" in the poem dismisses "her" arguments and tone and just waits her out.
It reminds me so much of the toxic relationships I know of where the woman's perspective is viewed as emotional, radical, and so not privileged with serious consideration.