# Looking for poem in James Burke documentary, Connections/Day the Universe Changed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** documentary-bio, poetry\ **Created:** [May 26, 2022, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-poem-in-james-burke-documentary-connections-day-the-universe-changed/965144 "2022-05-26T13:40:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-poem-in-james-burke-documentary-connections-day-the-universe-changed/965144/1 "2022-05-26T13:40:39Z")
For the last six or so months I’ve been rewatching the James Burke documentaries Connections, The Day the Universe Changed, Connections 3. I half watched Connections 2 but it went a bit too fast for my liking. In one of his programs he had a poem that I liked, but at the time I didn’t look up the author and now I can’t find the show it was on. The poem was not modern, it would have at least been from the Renaissance, but for some reason my brain is telling me it might be Greek. I thought the poem was about the universe/stars, but now I can’t even remember that. I thought it was shown during one of the parts about how the planets and stars don’t revolve around the Earth, but I tried to rewatch all of those programs and haven’t seen it yet. I’ve skimmed through both Burke’s Connections and Day the Universe Changed books but it wasn’t in there. Does anyone remember the poem or which program/episode it was in? [Archive.org](http://Archive.org) has all of them on there for anyone who’s interested in watching them. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-poem-in-james-burke-documentary-connections-day-the-universe-changed/965144/2 "2022-05-26T17:00:28Z")
Well, [here are some poems about stars and the universe](https://poemanalysis.com/best-poems/stars-universe/) (sorry - the page requires clickthrough to the poems and a lot of scrolling). Any of them sounds familiar? ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-poem-in-james-burke-documentary-connections-day-the-universe-changed/965144/3 "2022-05-26T17:32:44Z")
No, none of those seems close. But thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-poem-in-james-burke-documentary-connections-day-the-universe-changed/965144/4 "2022-05-26T23:33:12Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > [Archive.org](http://Archive.org) has all of them on there for anyone who’s interested in watching them. You’ve just made me very, very happy. Two down, lots more to go! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-poem-in-james-burke-documentary-connections-day-the-universe-changed/965144/5 "2022-05-26T23:35:38Z")
Wikipedia says he was making a new Connections show. Did this ever actually happen? ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-poem-in-james-burke-documentary-connections-day-the-universe-changed/965144/6 "2022-05-27T10:50:09Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > You’ve just made me very, very happy. Two down, lots more to go! I downloaded them all to my tablet and watch them on that. I don’t think they take up much room and look pretty good. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Wikipedia says he was making a new Connections show. Did this ever actually happen? Looking around it looks like they are still trying to finish it up. I hadn’t heard of it until just now. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-poem-in-james-burke-documentary-connections-day-the-universe-changed/965144/7 "2022-05-27T11:36:55Z")
“The Greatest Shot in Television” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2WoDQBhJCVQ/maxresdefault.jpg "The Greatest Shot In Television") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WoDQBhJCVQ) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-poem-in-james-burke-documentary-connections-day-the-universe-changed/965144/8 "2022-05-27T13:01:59Z")
The sheer timing of that… ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-poem-in-james-burke-documentary-connections-day-the-universe-changed/965144/9 "2022-05-27T18:20:15Z")
Brilliant, isn’t it? Today they’d do it with green screen or CGI, but it’s so cool knowing that’s the real thing. I imagine that when Burke turned to watch the ascent he was grinning like a maniac. I’d love to see the footage from just after the cut, where everyone is dancing around like crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-poem-in-james-burke-documentary-connections-day-the-universe-changed/965144/10 "2022-06-01T01:13:27Z")
I was finally able to find the poem. I don’t know what it’s called, but I found the part that was in the show. It was in Connections 3, episode 7 around 30 minutes. The show at that part is about Kepler and the poem is by John Donne: And new philosophy calls all in doubt, The element of fire is quite put out; The sun is lost, and th’ earth, and no man’s wit Can well direct him where to look for it. And freely men confess that this world’s spent, When in the planets, and the firmament They seek so many new; they see that this Is crumbled out again to his atomies. 'Tis all in pieces, all coherence gone; ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-poem-in-james-burke-documentary-connections-day-the-universe-changed/965144/11 "2022-06-01T01:49:54Z")
A Google search on John Donne and “new philosophy” finds that the title is “An Anatomy of the World.” That passage is only a short excerpt of a much longer poem: > **[An Anatomy of the World by John Donne | Poetry Foundation](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44092/an-anatomy-of-the-world)** > > When that rich soul which to her heaven is gone,