Word of the Day: Cosmos

From the Greek "kosmos." Obviously Greek characters don't show up on this site, so just know that those vowels are inaccurate.

But!

The word, cosmos, is a strange and complicated word. It is meant to evoke order, like the clear arrangement of the universe, as well as a sense of physical adornment. From this root we get the words both for "cosmology" - the study of the structure and history of the universe - and "cosmetology" - the study of beautification, as in hair, skin, or fingernails. Think of the word as being an embodiment of both austere ordering and frivolous decoration, two sides of the same arrangement of the universe, two sides of the same word. As poets we seem to try to bridge this same gap between the literal and the literary. We may know the "real" reason for why the moon orbits the earth, and yet we describe it as a pearl, a seashell, a jewel, a woman, an earring hung in the sky to adorn the night. Maybe, like the word "cosmos," we are in a position to support and perpetuate both realities: the real and the more-than-real.

Whatdya think, gang?

I think you're just lovely, Sibs.

O.0 Haha, too many ideas about this blasted word!