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A Dark Matter (Astropoetica, fall 09)

by Kathleen Wilson

Of the years I knew
there was more
that I didn't know
than I knew
and couldn't say.

I now think of things as equivalent.
I know it may not seem so,
but retrospectively leaning over I've learned
we free-fall the same, and the binding energy
of our strong interaction came into question.

I am the moon
held together.
I can bounce light off me
and measure the distance from you
to one centimeter.

Increasingly precise
in my observations
I report
our local dark matter
density:

most of the matter in our (exquisite)
universe was dark,
and there was much more
to the experience than what
we could explain.

The collisionless particles
of the unknown untouching the known,
we imagined our way
you set on self-consistency
I, my own galaxy.

The gravity of our situation
eluded half by dark
and half by stars,
you went spiraling
nowhere.

The cluster torn apart inexplosively
against your nature, by extinction,
I was a stripped star but luckily
one whose long-lived trajectory lead finally
to where.

03/13/2007

Author's Note: Chosen for Astropoetica, Fall issue. Soon to be seen at http://www.astropoetica.com" Celebrating the poetry of astronomy

Posted on 03/13/2007
Copyright © 2024 Kathleen Wilson

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Steven Kenworthy on 03/14/07 at 01:03 AM

kw...your poetry/topics/style is changing pace with the moons and i like it! i think it's a true sign of a talented writer...to be able to tackle so many different ideas: like here, this is so dark...with the tiny little white light at the end of the tunnel. i love all the astrological references...i think they take the poem out of the six feet deep zone and much further into a much darker and hard to reach place. i might be spacing out with this review, but i think you took it off the surface to make it out of reach...kind of hard to get to/comprehend. this mystery is exquisite. i feel like i'm dodging meteors here with loads of negative energy and "dark" history. glad you made it through, of course!

Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 03/14/07 at 03:58 AM

The title draws me into this space of you - your exploration of the dark and light, how it/they/the whole is bound together. And yet.... "The collisionless particles of the unknown untouching the known," - my favorite line - I enjoy how it blows my mind ;)- sends me out there to feel the matter, unmatter interacting, knowing all the while I will meet up again with you "where".

Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 03/14/07 at 06:36 PM

Another intergalactic masterpiece Kathleen. Subtle, effective weaving of metaphor and burnt out romance. One of your recent best IMO. Wish I had written this...glad you did. ...to favourites.

Posted by Matthew Sharp on 03/14/07 at 10:25 PM

i take the meaning of this to heart. your ability to inject thoughtful paradox is great. so.... thanks for bouncing your light around. ill make sure to stay within 1 centimeter:)

Posted by Elizabeth Jill on 03/16/07 at 04:27 PM

I would like to hear this as a spoken poem.

Posted by Sarah Graves on 03/16/07 at 10:32 PM

I really liked this. For me, this piece says a lot about human interaction, and how we are all made up of the same stuff in the end. Sometimes our light can reflect onto someone else, and the cycle never ends. Almost as if we need dark and light to balance this human interaction. :)

Posted by Michelle Angelini on 03/18/07 at 05:35 AM

WOW! What a journey through the universe. Trajectory unlimited!
~Chelle~

Posted by Jared Fladeland on 03/18/07 at 07:13 PM

This reminds me of a piece of that song, "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" from the late 90s. a lyric describes how in the race of life, sometimes your ahead, sometimes your behind, and don't worry because the race is long, and "In the end, it's only with yourself". This reminds me a bit of that, as it is wise advice

Posted by Shirin Swift on 03/20/07 at 12:52 AM

beautiful wisdom

Posted by David Garner on 11/19/07 at 06:22 PM

so many explosions here on the page. each is a magnetic proclomation of numbers, mathematics, letters, and love. I couldn't be more in love with words than here.

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