Thursday, November 18, 2010

An Experiment

An Experiment

Why shouldn’t outer space show up in our veins,
the pockmarked face of Mars replicated trillions
of times upon the rocky edge of cell membranes.
Lava churning at the planet’s core undulates
like flames, like human proteins, and our lungs
contain dense forests of capillaries. What is there
to learn here. Is the message to stay put, that we
are on the right planet. Or did the galaxy fashion us
from itself as an experiment, bodies as Petri dishes.

6 comments

  1. Yes, yes, and yes. Am sharing this image. My sentiment about life is the same, but I feel quite wise in saying I know nothing. PS - have you heard about the space bubbles? Google it, you'll love it.

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  2. Wow...you had my brain going in circles and images and short circuits....I am going to repicture this to verify this experiment! Lovely poem as always...xoxo

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  3. Love the last words, "bodies as petri dishes," it is unusual to see what phrase, "petri dish" in a poem and it is perfect.

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  4. Thank you for the poem; I love the way that rhymes are echoed in instances of assonance and pararhyme, so that there is a consistent sonic echo or beat occurring through the lines. It's something I rarely see done, but respond to appreciate when I hear it.

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  5. From Therese L. Broderick -- Terrific poem. I like how the questions are not posed with a question mark. You might like to take a look at the jacket cover photograph of Seamus Heaney's new book "Human Chain": veins of plants/people.

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