The Bohr Model

one proton,
one electron,
hydrogen.

two protons,
two electrons,
helium.

three protons,
three electrons,
lithium.

and so forth,
everything in concentric circles,
or so we learned
in high school chemistry.

in retrospect,
neither the proton
nor the electron
have very much at all
to do with an atom.

in retrospect,
it is the space between them,
the cloud of possibilities,
fading in every direction,
the lobes of uncertainty,
mirroring each other like
so many lungs,
the rings of chance,
circling like an embrace,
that give the atoms
their character,

and we continue
to find them
even more beautiful
when understood
than when imagined.

Floral Photography

if ...
(and this i can safely recommend)
... you want to photograph a flower
in the studio,
you should cut it
at the base of the stalk,
just before it opens itself to the world.

when you arrive
back at the studio
cut it one more time
very close to where you cut it before,
and place it in the light,
which may now be modified
in infinite variety
to meet your expectations.

if ...
(and this i cannot safely recommend)
... you want to photograph a flower
where it blooms,
you will have to wait
as the sun rises
and illuminates one side,
as the sun sets
and illuminates the other,
as the full moon
softens the shadows,
even as the early snow
spreads its ever-thickening veil
across the landscape.

in this way,
you will be ready
when the petals come to terms
with the day,
with the night,
with the palpable air,
which grows colder by the second.

Rush Hour

i'm in a hurry
and my hurry
is more important
than your hurry.

as a matter of fact,
if your cash-for-clunkers hurry
would slow down for a minute
and check out my
fully-upgraded,
hybrid hurry,
you'd see
there's no contest.

or, by analogy,
if our hurries were playing poker
with everyone else's hurries
(everyone from this six-lane highway is invited)
my hurry would have a full house,
aces over tens,
and your hurry would be looking up,
sheepishly,
deciding whether or not to call.

i'm sure it would never occur to either of our hurries
or any of the other hurries around the table
that everything need not add up to zero.

my hurry
could just buy your hurry a drink,
perhaps,
and they could have a good time
on their way home.