| Author | Message | ||
| Mudcat Miller
New member Username: mudcat Post Number: 16 Registered: 08-2005 |
The Cap The visiting professor was heavy-freighted in esteem, preceded by the brilliance of his work on dark energy. His talk soared, but staggered too. So many years of chasing the unseen. The mysterious power that pushes planets apart. And people too? The line got a nervous laugh. At lunch I sat across the table, watched him wielding his fork and knife in the European manner. The cuff of his fine tweed coat was frayed. He cut the lamb with precision and prodded the potatoes with care, creating a space at the middle of his plate. Fighting boredom, I flicked a bottle cap on the tabletop. Just a few inches. Then again. Then, to my horror, a too-strong flick. It skittered across the table and hit the old man’s plate with a little bang. He looked up with surprise, light flickering in his eyes. Then he flicked the cap back at me. | ||
| Danielle Stokes
New member Username: abornpoet Post Number: 45 Registered: 08-2005 |
I like this alot Mr. Miller or is it Professor Miller? A day in the life... ~D | ||
| Cary
Valued Member Username: ponderlust Post Number: 199 Registered: 07-2005 |
Mudcat... I'm captivated by poetry that bridges human relationships and Science, especially physics and chemistry. This one suceeds in politely squeezing a profound AHA from my lips. That cap perfectly exemplifies a planet or a person and the mysterious power that defines their course is nothing less than the exertion of whim. Perfect! Cary... | ||
| M
Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 4872 Registered: 11-1998 |
A good story, Mudcat. I particularly liked the contrast between the second paragraph, alienation, and the last paragraph, connection. The strangest things bring people together. Good work! | ||
| LJ Cohen
Moderator Username: ljc Post Number: 2698 Registered: 07-2002 |
Mudcat--I, too, enjoyed this. From the intellectual to the concrete. I'm glad the professor was able to be playful. best, ljc http://ljcbluemuse.blogspot.com/ | ||
| Mudcat Miller
New member Username: mudcat Post Number: 17 Registered: 08-2005 |
Thanks for the boosts and for the perspicacious readings, which found more than I knew was there. Danielle -- I'm not a professor, but do have some frayed tweed in the closet. Cary -- I agree about the confluence of science and poetry. It's a rich vein. And I love your read of the spinning cap's arc. Very sharp. Did you get the "little bang," as opposed to the big one? M -- Also sharp, on the yo-yo effect of people and planets. LJ -- I like that "intellectual to concrete." That's the way poetry should work, if I understand it correctly. Must say I'm impressed with the inmates of this site. | ||
| Cary
Valued Member Username: ponderlust Post Number: 202 Registered: 07-2005 |
Did you get the "little bang," as opposed to the big one? How could I have not? I didn't mention it, but on a quantum scale, that little bang could very well have created its own little universe. I once used the Big Bang as a metaphor to parallel spring's many constellations of flowers. I have a question for you... since you seem to be a man of poetry and science. Don't the two subjects seem to pit you in a tug of war especially in regards to religion? I mean on one hand we believe in possibilities and are not strangers to faith... but on the other, we understand that everything is hypothesis until subjected to the Scientific Method? Cary... | ||
| Denis M. Garrison
Advanced Member Username: denismgarrison Post Number: 553 Registered: 01-2005 |
Mudcat, Big bang, little bang ... it is bang on! A swing and a hit. A fine miniature, a moment caught. Well done! bw, Denis www.dmgar.com Visit Haiku Harvest at www.haikuharvest.net Visit Loch Raven Review at www.lochravenreview.com My books are available at www.lulu.com/denismgarrison | ||
| Mudcat Miller
New member Username: mudcat Post Number: 18 Registered: 08-2005 |
Your question is one I think much about, Cary. I love the new thinking: that empiricism, which has taken us away from such murky regions as religion, is now leading us back. I love the idea that the more we find out, the more it seems impossible that it could all be coincidental. If atomic chains stacked differently by the narrowest margin during the bang, rivers, lakes and oceans would freeze from the bottom up and the planet would be very different indeed, e.g. Personally, I don't know what I believe, but I do believe there's richer food for poetry here than in dusty dry empiricism alone. Denis: "Bang on" -- way cool. | ||
| Jim Doss
Senior Member Username: jimdoss Post Number: 1796 Registered: 12-2003 |
Mudcat, Your best work yet that I've read on Wild. The bang that began the expanding universe. Jim My books are available at http://www.lulu.com/jimdoss. Visit Loch Raven Review at http://www.lochravenreview.com. | ||
| Penelope
New member Username: penelope Post Number: 43 Registered: 07-2005 |
Mudcat,I was late getting to this. I'm glad it didn't slip by me altogether. Not much left to say except ditto. It was a fine piece. Cary, as Mudcat said, quantum physics seems to be bridging that gap between the laws of the universe and the mystery at the heart of spirituality. What appears to be happening on a quantum level is full of paradoxes and mystery. The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav is a wonderful exploration of that if you're interested in approaching it without having to have a scientific background. | ||
| Dale McLain
Advanced Member Username: sparklingseas Post Number: 1113 Registered: 11-2004 |
Mudcat~ What a tasty morsel! Dark energy and lamb chops! Wonderful. Better with each reading! take care~dale | ||
| Mudcat Miller
New member Username: mudcat Post Number: 20 Registered: 08-2005 |
Thanks, friends. Penelope, I'll be picking up Wu Li pronto. Dale -- are you suggesting that the professor studied the menu and said, "I'll have The Lamb"? | ||
| Cary
Valued Member Username: ponderlust Post Number: 207 Registered: 07-2005 |
MM... I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. I have an open mind with a scientist there at the sill, waiting to sift just about everything. Thanks. Pen... Wu Li Masters Sounds like a Bruce Lee movie. I'll have to look that one up. Thanks for the tip. Cary... | ||
| Laurie Byro
Advanced Member Username: lauriette Post Number: 1172 Registered: 11-2003 |
congratulations on fine work laurie |
