Thursday, January 21, 2016

Epstein's Constant

This also appeared in Orbis.


I’ll call this Epstein’s Constant.  It implies
the angle of the vision from the man.
It imports paraendrocrinology
into aesthetics via sense of touch.
It makes all macroeconomics just.
By Epstein’s Constant all girls understand
all boys, and boys occasionally know
something about one girl, if they apply
themselves.  And Epstein’s Constant.  When you view
the stars through Epstein’s Constant on clear nights,
Magellan’s Cloud will match both Decalogue
And the Decameron in tone and luster,
measured against whatever scale you like.
It never changes. (I said it was constant.)
It knows no history and yet applies
To what your mother told your father you
told your teacher.  Although it will not bend,
applied to love it usually finds
the path most sinuous between two points.

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