Philip Dunn
Dear Emily Dickinson
God’s work? Or the big bang?
The first’s impossible.
The latter’s facts are, more than god,
Incomprehensible.
God’s work? Or the big bang?
The first’s outdone by facts
Now grown so darn inscrutable
New acts of faith are back.
What’s further moves most slow;
That’s just how it’s observed.
I wait. The weight of waiting bares
Anticipation’s nerve.
How small’s the earth in space?
Well, microscopic, yes.
Our galaxy is less that that.
We don’t exist, I guess.
Arcturus is his proper name —
Why merely call him star?
You always hailed the species so
And kept a few in jars.
The first’s impossible.
The latter’s facts are, more than god,
Incomprehensible.
God’s work? Or the big bang?
The first’s outdone by facts
Now grown so darn inscrutable
New acts of faith are back.
What’s further moves most slow;
That’s just how it’s observed.
I wait. The weight of waiting bares
Anticipation’s nerve.
How small’s the earth in space?
Well, microscopic, yes.
Our galaxy is less that that.
We don’t exist, I guess.
Arcturus is his proper name —
Why merely call him star?
You always hailed the species so
And kept a few in jars.
from A Snail's Pace Beam of Light
Page(s) 106
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