The wheel really is quite a simple machine.
A circle on a stick. But someone invented it.
We know this because we’re always being told not
to re-invent it. “No need to re-invent the wheel,”
we’re told. Because it’s so basic. A simple machine.
The circle is the simplest shape, the most perfect form,
all the points equidistant from a single point.
It’s how the universe should work. Revolving
without rolling. And is there rolling without wheels?
There are no wheels in nature. Someone had to invent it.
But once you’ve seen it, of course you want to invent it.
Put it a circle on a stick and we can use it to move things.
The circle, the perfect shape, the perfect machine.
We all know nothing’s really round, but what if
you could make something nearly round. Nearly perfect.
Like the human heart, so beautiful, so imperfect.
But if you could make it frictionless, it could
carry anything. Love, you mean. Yes of course,
that was invented a long time ago. Simple,
perfect, frictionless. If only. Don’t tell me
there’s no need to re-invent it. Re-inventing
is what we all need to do, every generation,
every person, every lover. The wheel will turn.
We’ll invent it. Let it turn. Reinvent it.
A circle on a stick. But someone invented it.
We know this because we’re always being told not
to re-invent it. “No need to re-invent the wheel,”
we’re told. Because it’s so basic. A simple machine.
The circle is the simplest shape, the most perfect form,
all the points equidistant from a single point.
It’s how the universe should work. Revolving
without rolling. And is there rolling without wheels?
There are no wheels in nature. Someone had to invent it.
But once you’ve seen it, of course you want to invent it.
Put it a circle on a stick and we can use it to move things.
The circle, the perfect shape, the perfect machine.
We all know nothing’s really round, but what if
you could make something nearly round. Nearly perfect.
Like the human heart, so beautiful, so imperfect.
But if you could make it frictionless, it could
carry anything. Love, you mean. Yes of course,
that was invented a long time ago. Simple,
perfect, frictionless. If only. Don’t tell me
there’s no need to re-invent it. Re-inventing
is what we all need to do, every generation,
every person, every lover. The wheel will turn.
We’ll invent it. Let it turn. Reinvent it.
2 comments:
Perhaps no wheels in nature (like steps, also), but there are balls.
Yeah, a stone can roll down a hill, but it doesn't have an axle. So I guess the answer to my question of whether there can be rolling without wheels is, yes there can be.
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