Huh! An accidental orbit is an interpretation which - almost - makes it work. It wasn't one I'd thought of, and I don't think it would be the first thing most p

Huh! An accidental orbit is an interpretation which - almost - makes it work. It wasn't one I'd thought of, and I don't think it would be the first thing most people think of, so... I'd still cut the line. It's really cool, though, to see how readers interpret things differently than a writer expects. That's happened a few times with creative work I've presented to the public: once was an occasion for horrified revision, and another was a tremendous moment of "Wow! Maybe this is better than I'd thought". That's fun, and those experiences killed for me critical theories which rely on authorial intent: more always exists than was (consciously) intended. Your comment, and the other complimentary one to which you replied, have kept this idea rolling around in my head for the last couple of days. I keep trying out different phrases to myself. "Circling sense, but never setting down" is the best I've got right now. I like the alliteration. I dig the aviation image, although it's a bit abstruse. "Sense" isn't as strong as "meaning", but "meaning" ruins both the alliteration and the rhythm. I'll take it - it's better than the other one - but I'm not completely satisfied. I adore good writing, and have written some things which I think are good. We see lots of posts on this board explaining the process of writing good code, and the level of detailed thought that requires. I've seized your comment(s) as an opportunity to demonstrate the process behind crafting good prose, which I think is mysterious to most. Thank you for that, even if you and I are the only people who will read this far down the thread. I'm glad you enjoyed the original expression, and honored that you'll remember it - but please don't forget that it's a turd!