Copernicus Poem by Joe Rosochacki

I grew up a city
A city within Detroit city
I grew up a street
Which was called Charest
Across my house was the Hamtramck Junior High School named after Copernicus
I was taught, from a very early age, that Copernicus was father of 'modern' astronomy.
(For after all he was Polish)
Not Galileo but him.
He was berated by the Roman Catholic Church
for insinuating that the we don't live in a geo-centric solar system
Let alone a geo-centric universe
(After all we say 'sunrise' and 'sundown' even till today.)
Copernicus had envisioned rotation of planets,
the orbital path they take
Around the sun,
There is no sunrise or sunset,
--and Copernicus was right on!
He did this without a telescope.
And what's worse,
Alas, he was considered a heretic by the pope
-and died and was buried in paupers grave.
Lately, the Vatican has reconsidered it's admonition and rebuking of the truth,
(God is truth and truth is God, in essence the Church rebuked God)
Copernicus and Galileo have been justified
The church was wrong!
Flat Earth Society WHO?
There is an apparent horizon
There is no defining mark named horizon on globe
The earth is round.

Anyway back to Copernicus, after being nearly half of a millennia,
He is finely going to have a proper burial including honors and headstone.
It's too bad that in the city which had featured his namesake 20th century school--
His named was covered by signs which gave the new name of campus,
-it had been changed to Hamtramck High School.

5-26-10