A Science-Fantasy Poem by Margaret Alice

Finished George Gamow,
planned to savour it, yet
somehow went right
through it

Thoughts carry feedback
feelings, I’m thinking about
creating interest and the
stimulation of

The human mind trying to
understand everything, from
galaxies to elementary
particles

Curiosity makes life livable,
gives meaning to existence,
using up the excitement of
a science-fantasy

By burning this mental fire
too soon, I’m left with such
a longing for more,
the story

Fired my imagination, now
I burn for more information,
and I have nothing new
to read

I want to discover more
marvelous theories like
Dirac’s sea, ‘There should
be holes

in empty space’, the so-
called vacuum is like deep
water and we’re the fish
unaware of

Water’s existence; I want to
experience the delight of
reading magical sentences
such as

‘Quantum material can leak
through obstacles, penetrating
nuclear walls as waves, not
particles’

And the sheer ecstasy of ‘When
nobody is looking, nobody can
know how particles behave…’
meaning that

Dolls might be moving when
unobserved because the act
of watching them prevents
proving the converse

Oh, I must read again and
play with all these great,
wonderful theories!

George Gamow “Mr Tompkins in Paperback”
Canto edition 2002; pp.166,162, and 89