On The Electrodynamics of Dying Bodies
On The Electrodynamics of Dying Bodies
by kimberly e. ruth
*Title appropriated from Albert Einstein’s essay “On The Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies” which introduced his theory of special relativity.
CONSEQUENCE ONE
It is titled War Execution. His face is contorted with one eye shut and the other only half- so, like a broken window stuck ajar, yet he stands straight, shoulders down, hands behind his back. If they are tied, I do not know. He is young, in his twenties, maybe, and a gun is pressed against his head. FLASH. Capture iniquity. FLASH. Expose truth. FLASH.
The moment the shutter is released: visible light is reflected from the objects in the camera’s field of view: an objective moment of brutality
until a man with a red, white, and blue pin breathes a sigh of relief.
CONSEQUENCE TWO
What if it were now, as they thought it was then,
when the earth was still flat and you
could walk around barefoot, with unpolished
toes and teased hair. But, the force is too strong,
when the yellow lines become invisible and
when there is no place beautiful left to go,
that she who stands still will fall
faster than she who just came back
from getting her hair cut.
Tags: Kimberly E. Ruth
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A lot of dynamics within this ‘electrodynamic’. I like how the poem utilized or enmeshed scientific ideas/lingo into the theme of dying/decay. It’s one of those poems i have to let sink in for a while. Seems like 2 stanzas are very contrasing at first…not like opposites, well maybe they are opposites on the same side of the spectrum, hmm. The power of the human spirit can do good things and bad. Delicious food for thought! Good one Kimmy. Thx for sharing.