All the stars that crowd the ether—
Unremarkable, compliant—
Travel routes which are reliant
On the plan prescribed by nature.
Men’s desires have deceived her
As she dwindles, meek and pliant,
Though I bid her stay defiant.
Once the pivot passed beneath her
Never could she make a detour.
Christine Hanolsy 
You are lyrical. Also, I’m delighted you decided to include ‘automaton’ this week too!
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This is a very cleverly constructed poem and I thoroughly enjoyed the play with words.
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I loved this. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle of words, carefully linked together.
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Loved the simile of an automaton being like a planet or asteroid in orbit! And you are a wizard with meter, Christine!
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Ha! Thank you. I think I tried way too hard here, but by the time I realized that, I was already committed.
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Damn. Just… damn. ‘this is the kind of poem I hope I can write someday. One where each line is so closely woven with the next that it’s hard to pull out one line to admire… they’re all so tightly looped together. (I am a very, very beginner poet!!) Thank you for writing this. So inspiring.
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Oh my goodness, I missed your comment when you posted. Thank you *so much* for your kind comment. It took a lot of wrestling and wringing my hands to get it to work.
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I imagined a long line of compliant robots as I read your poem!
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