The relay
I know I must, but how, I ask;
I must understand that of which to ponder.
Action waits for thought,
and thought seems far away;
action is distrusting.
Is it this or that;
how does this impact that,
how does that get impacted?
Action’s fate depends on thought;
if thought runs too far or not enough,
action is disqualified.
-zumwalt apr ’98
Runiverse
She radiates brilliance based on fine features,
good form and skillfully applied cosmetics.
He balances confidence and accessibility
with an unerring certainty of success.
The universe is expanding,
Inflation rampant,
Stretching everything more than any yoga instructor would
allow.
Our planet is stuck in motion
at hundreds of thousands kilometers per second.
I stock up on Dramamine and Ginger Ale.
She worries that she will never see him again.
He is lost in the business of the day.
These galaxies race away from us faster than
the speed of light
And are accelerating more each trillionth of a second.
Some Alien out there has calculated that
this is the last week to
DVR an episode of the Game of Thrones
before losing all contact.
Some Star Watcher is now
stuck with a static picture
of this faraway galaxy from here on out.
She is not simply a set of particles:
she is moving very fast.
In relation to her changing position in space,
he is moving even faster.
This universe is not stable;
It strays too far from itself
Running away from a past that was too small.
This universe is accelerating
As if it has immunity from moving violations
Or has appropriately mounted a very good radar detector.
One day her particles and his
Will dance tumultuously in the debris encircling some
infant sun
Or get pulled into a
black hole.
She radiates,
He balances,
The universe inflates,
Stretching everything way beyond belief
And ultimately, slightly out of reach.
— Zumwalt (2011)
zumpoems 