Subtilize It
"Is it not curious, that so vast a being as the whale should see the world through so small an eye, and hear the thunder though an ear which is smaller than a hare’s? But if his eyes were broad as the lens of Herschel’s great telescope; and his ears as capacious as the porches of cathedrals; would that make him any longer of sight, or sharper of hearing? Not at all.—Why then do you try to ‘enlarge’ your mind? Subtilize it."--Herman Melville
You strain to turn
yourself right-side out
like a newly-sewn doll,
the limbs pulled back through
so the rough stitches hide.
How many times do you
refresh the screen,
hoping for some sign
of contact? Each day,
you build a new web,
then sit at its center
awaiting the faintest,
far tremor. How many
light years has your probe
traveled, and on what
trajectory? You know
the farther it goes,
the less likely it is
to return. Poor Laika,
howling in her capsule.
Why even send her?
Don’t press launch.
the limbs pulled back through
so the rough stitches hide.
How many times do you
refresh the screen,
hoping for some sign
of contact? Each day,
you build a new web,
then sit at its center
awaiting the faintest,
far tremor. How many
light years has your probe
traveled, and on what
trajectory? You know
the farther it goes,
the less likely it is
to return. Poor Laika,
howling in her capsule.
Why even send her?
Don’t press launch.
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