scientific

happy birthday

1.

equation with unknown values-
I sunk in, failed to add up,

found you, unobserved



2.

catalyst
balance beam
humility
measuring stick

I have addends,
some vague notion of where they fit
an extra set of eyes to see who I am

waiting to learn the secret of my usefulness



3.

galaxy
random man in the fist of distance

a list of hypotheses:
where you came from
how you got here
when you'll go



4.

reality divides-
two you's and me's to reckon with

a law that says something collapses
when universes collide



5.

the nights are mutable, viscous
one long, liquid stretch

a woman defined by the fingers of man

I roll around until I stick



6.

the beeline of morning-
clipping counters and sliding down walls

I lose count of the scoops of coffee
when I hear you behind me, laughing



7.

one world slid behind the other,
stars trapped between two sheets of glass

poetry for unsolved mysteries;
satisfied with a few leaking cracks