IRRELATIVE Is physicist so right When says that never light From black hole can escape Because of massive weight Of supernova that Forever will collapse Upon itself till all It was becomes too small To ever more exist When four dimensions twist Until it nothing be Except for gravity? If you believe it’s true Perhaps […]
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ON PORPOISE Am I watching the dolphins Or are they watching me, Somersaulting on backfins, While I swim clumsily? At the junction of our worlds Where the land meets the sea, Somewhat shallow for their twirls, I can stand awkwardly. I’m not native to water; They’re not native to land. Still each other we ought to […]
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FLIPPING OUT Every seven-fifty grand Earth performs a sleight of hand When magnetic north and south Make a total turnabout. Sun does same each dozen years Minus one, when sunspots clear. Relatively quick event Due to plasma turbulent. Earth contains no plasma hot, Just a core of molten rock. But this has the same effect, Quite […]
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GALILEO’S GHOST With Earth at the Center, Ptolemy ruled. Mathematically sound, for centuries fooled Who then passed as scientists to proclaim, “We know all the Universe; don’t defame!” When Copernicus proved the Sun’s the Hub, Those of Catholic persuasion wouldn’t budge. “Since the Bible’s declared, ’The Earth is It,’ Therefore anything new must therein fit.” When […]
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LA BÊTE DE GÉVAUDAN: 1764-1767 (THE BEAST OF GEVAUDAN) (Based partly on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_Gevaudan and translations from http://www.dinosoria.com/bete_gevaudan.htm and http://facteurx.chez.com/betegevaudan.htm) What devastated Central France three centuries ago? “A Wolfman Beast” said those who glanced and dodged this deadly foe. “La Bête de Gévaudan” – from Hell some thought this demon came. Yet only kids and women killed, no […]
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WHERE NONE HAS GONE BEFORE Though we arrived just yesterday In geologic time, Appears we’ve had too much to say, And none of it sublime. Repeated cometary blasts, The forces needed to Turn species into fossils past When time was overdue. Like plague of locusts, we can scourge Wherever we alight. Primeval ecosystems purge. We’re quite […]
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TRICK OR TREAT? “Good Christians” warn that Halloween’s A festival of Satan, When nothing’s standing in between Your soul and its damnation. For centuries, they witches burned With little provocation. Eternal fire claimed they’d earned. For mercy — strangulation! The Inquisition paid you well For friend’s denunciation, Provided friend was rich as hell For Church’s confiscation. […]
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ROMAN RUMINATION I went to visit ancient Rome, But found it never fell. Its buildings may seem crumbled stone, But it’s alive and well. Its mighty temples still exist Though in an altered form. Its rings of gold and amethyst Still fingers rich adorn. For in the City Vatican The emperor still reigns, Descended from Octavian, […]
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WILL YOU BE HERE? When swollen Sun burns red the sky, Will you be salty basin dry? When Moon is just a distant speck, Will you no longer coastlines wreck? When Venus orbits sun no more, Will you, like Mars, be endless shore? When comet last has Sunward plunged, Will you be memory expunged? When you […]
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QUESTIONABLE CHOICE Gathered at the water hole Primates lacking hair. Cover selves from neck to toe Lest reveal what’s there. Feeding till they’re satisfied, Drinking till they’re full. Elders showing sagging hides From the planet’s pull. Try imagining these apes “Masters of the Earth,” Guzzling down fermented grapes, Adding to their girth. Evolution must have […]
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