Two Body Problem

The third point in space
Between two bodies bound
Against trajectory:
Call it equilibrium, 
Or call it empty.

You may call it mystery
Divine, or of Science,
Math or logic clear –
Barycenter, or 
Buried center, a 
Two-body problem

As most things are.

You may call it what you like,
Language major
Or minor fair –
More or less. 
I do not care –

I shall call it
Love. 

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“Barycenter” is our name for the point about which two (or more) bodies, bound together by gravitational pull, orbit. Mathematically speaking, it’s the bodies’ center of mass. Metaphysically speaking, it can be anything we want, because it’s not a physical point – it’s a dynamical system, a function of how the bodies interact over time. Like most explanations by poets who get hold of a physics textbook, this one is surely self-serving and far off from the factual base. Yet in a world crafted by definitions, I find my need for a philosophy of dynamics rather than constants runs deep. Sometimes it is good just to acknowledge that there is indeed a space between two bodies that is not replicated by any other space between any other set of two (or more) bodies. And sometimes that is enough – call it what you will.

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