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.
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