in the fraction of a decimal
one atom quakes to halt,
still against the shaking of skies.
a universe unnoticed
in the comma of a breath,
impossible as hummingbirds
or life
where perfect-zero miracles
at such a tiny scale
flicker brief as touch
on the ember of a cosmic fade-to-black
Author notes
I. Appologise for not following the 'ground your poem/reality' instructions and please feel free to remove this if it's strayed too far. But I read this contest as I was leaving and thought 'wow that's a nice quote' so wrote it out, along with the number 88, and proceeded to write a poem a day or so later. Without the rules in front of me. So. Thank you for the inspiration, even if this isn't quite what you asked for.
The thought here: statistically speaking, I wonder if, by dint of 'quantum' theory extending to heat energy (?) and thus the impossibility of infinitely small increments in temperature loss, an atom might not stumble upon the 'impossible' perfect zero degrees by accident. And then I wondered if anyone would notice. By the same statistical argument, I highly doubt it.
A contest entry
- Empty Vessel by Heart Sutra.
950 points, ended May 17, 2007, 23 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
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I adore the line about "comma of a breath" and it lead me to continue thinking about how often we do that in our conversations rather than actually pausing. This is a unique look at the contest theme and I appreciate your attention to detail.
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This is a wonderfully original take on the contest theme, nor sure the author's notes help much...
very nice entry
al
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