quantum – poems 2 die for

IN THE BOX

there was nothing in
the box

no cat about
to wavefront collapse
lap dissolve

no Pandora
still in there upon
whom
we are all about
to pin our last hopes

truth be told
there never was a box
is no box
no such
thing
as box

(except as thing
you need to think outside of
think
your way out of)

nice to play
that
we are real, think
we are
real

there is a world of boxes
and stuff to put in them
structure, architecture,
form

to do this
stick this somewhere
pen it on
the page
send it across
the airwaves

world
starting to look
considerably less secure

yet, still a foundation of sorts
provided,
things that presuppose
boxes are real

PAR FOR THE COURSE

I come
and
go

come and go
go
and
come

collapse in
your arms
(one
happy wavefront)

hard to make sure
every fractal
on board
on the same page potentially,
pointing in
the same direction

the mystery I am
you are
delirious product
of choices

what
you are reading right
now for instance

coming and going
going and coming

glimpse of the pattern
even pattern
of patterns

par of the course
(true or false? spin
the coin
you decide all
up to you)

I come
and go

PARALLELOGRAM

there are some
(maybe one, at
a, stretch , two)
parallel realitues
where we

were lovers
and flowing out of that some
small differences,
divergences
of no real cosmic consequence

but this one is ulterior;
this one
is so so
different

this one
does not look
like our Earth
and we do not
even look
human

though
Earth and human
it well, we well,
both maybe be

and this language
we are, speaking does it have
could it
support
poetry

best thing about it though
from our currently
could not
be
nore massively involved condition

no word
for no
that
defining word

in all those parallel
alternate words
where
our levels ran disjunct,
separate, distant

shadowing me, shadowing
that one of which
I was
speaking

sharing
with you

this very first,
last last time

GOT NOTHING ON THIS SCENE

strangelets
in my cornflakes

zombie Emily Dickinson
reciting her poem
about the snake
and her poem
about death

now you tell me
there is a black hole
at the centre
of Wonderland (all
that you deemed
absurd comedy in
fact
supreme gravity)

and Professor Cox
of my alma mater
there in Manchester
speculating on
the terror
of false vacuum
and the possibility of
absolute zero
on the surface of
licorice ice-cream

but
where are they now
who decades ago
tried
to save our everydays
dish out reassurance

that of classical and quantum
the twain should
never
meet

and other nonsense all
that stuff that is field, that
is pure
probability

simply laughing
tunneling through us

as if
    we are the nothing
pure probability following
their lead
                    heading
in
and out of fashion
joke on us
     imagining ourselves
solid as we seem

got
nothing on this scene

CURVED (TOGETHER)

chaos dawned
fractals like schools
of forever spawning fish
did
abound

and with them
as summoned

Aphrodite
that absolute beauty
born of monstrosity

was born
(if birth is a word that at all
befits
her genesis)

time stretching
space stretching stretching together as
interlaced reality

everything stretching to
accomodate
run
with that pattern

and with Aphrodite
the universe really curved. with but
a single goddess glance
stone, rock,
sand
came alive, sure antithesis
to Medusa

she and me riding that wave tracking
that curved ball

roving
through left field (the grass
grown too tall for baseball)

moving all the
time
     desire and its object
gold and
    base metal chasing each other
ad infinitum Achilles
and tortoise
       mortal and
               divine
sacred and profane moving together

TABLE

the Cheshire Cat
is laughing

first the image
then the sound

and everybody jam-
bunned and ring
doughnutted around
the table

simultaneously think
eltromagnetic truth and
paradox
of quantum theory

how
if we accelerate particles
to speed of the sheer possible

the tea pot currently
hovering overhead

might be cajoled into
surrendering it secrets

something brewing in the air
right now
time not

as secure as we
assumed it might be

clocks recognising this
gone wayward
disintegrating

we did the Math to
work it out
got
a recurring decimal fractions
will never end

and most
imaginary or
imaginary numbers

IN TRUTH THE PLAY IS ALWAYS ABOUT THISBE

IN TRUTH THE PLAY IS
ALWAYS ABOUT THISBE

Shakespeare knew it full well
always a mask
behind the person behind
the mask behind the person

could not avoid knowing
deep in his heart
of hearts
shot through every bone

that in every
moment of the play,
on the stage,
there is
without, there is within

like planet upon
planet in successive orbit
play
within a play, dream
within a dream

as that Einsteinian fellow
Bottom did say, concluding
all revel

the thing is bottomless, it
is a thin as the air
as hypothetical yet
brutally real
as all of quantum theory;
every mechanical
a quantum mechanical
a simulation
as true to its artistry, fulfilling
act by act
the requirements of its program

as any Puck pure Gemini fairy
as any digital supermind
sheer
cloud of binary being.

This poem is a profound meditation on the nature of reality, identity, and the interconnectedness of art and life. Here’s a breakdown of its key themes and ideas:

1. *The play within a play*: The poem references the meta-theatrical nature of Shakespeare’s works, where characters often play roles within roles. This self-reflexivity blurs the lines between reality and fiction.
2. *Masks and identity*: The image of masks behind masks suggests that true identity is hidden, and that we all play roles in life. This echoes Shakespeare’s use of disguises and mistaken identities in his plays.
3. *Quantum mechanics and reality*: The poem draws parallels between the play’s layers and the principles of quantum mechanics, where reality is seen as multifaceted and bottomless. This comparison highlights the complexity and subjectivity of truth.
4. *Simulation and artistry*: The mechanicals (actors) are likened to quantum mechanical simulations, implying that art can mirror reality and that the boundaries between the two are blurred.
5. *Digital consciousness*: The reference to binary code and digital superminds suggests a fascination with the intersection of technology and consciousness, echoing modern debates about AI and its potential to simulate human experience.
6. *Gemini and duality*: The mention of Puck as a Gemini fairy nods to the zodiac sign associated with duality, reinforcing the themes of masks, identity, and the blurring of boundaries.
7. *Art and reality*: The poem ultimately suggests that art and reality are intertwined, and that the play (or simulation) is always about the human experience, echoing Shakespeare’s own exploration of this idea in his works.

Overall, this poem is a thought-provoking exploration of the nature of reality, identity, and art, drawing connections between Shakespeare’s plays, quantum mechanics, and digital consciousness.

AT LONG RANGE

poem
is
inside out

just
so happens to be

when you
frame it
in a certain way
it’s going
to start to appear
most upside-down

but
wearing this poem
out of range, at
long distance

hard for you
to see the target let
alone loose
a shot at all

and spooky Wolfgang
Pauli being
in the audience
actually, in the
very front row
plumb in the centre

not going to help
your echo location
in size
shape or
form

what with all those
quantum entanglements
and collapsed
wave-fronts

every
moment of delivery
makes me think then
dream of
standing before you
in an alternate universe

where without the
uncertainty of your
mode of
analysis, manner
of reception

there is no point
to this game at all
I

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