-the sore shoulder and the distant dwarf-

          soon enough i’ll blame the dampness in weather.

          soon enough i’ll not be fit to work out the kinks.

          it’s the left shoulder, so i’ll cup my right hand over it

          and move my left arm in lame, shoulder-high revolutions

          like those of the distant dwarf around the frozen
          waistline of the Sun’s influence.

          this is one of the things that pushed Pluto

          toward disfavor among influential observers;

          the metrics of its sometimes awkward, unpredictable revolutions.

          we want our planets to revolve cleanly, or at the least,

          with imperfections which are scientifically excusable.

          my sore shoulder will soon be explained away by
          the fault of dampness in weather.

          the guests in the parlor will one day come to say:

          “well, it’s just the dampness, right Bill”?

          i’ll one day reply: “that’s right.
          it’s just the dampness”.