“A cup of the Sun's core produces ~60 mW of thermal energy. By volume…less than that of a human [350 mW]. In a sense, you are hotter than the Sun — there's just not as much of you.”
— Minute Physics
Speaking roughly, in terms of heat
generated per every human inch, you give
off more milliwatts—surge/energy. Only
the Sun is bigger . . . it matters.
We are all blinded
by love, the endlessly expanding/contracting
universe is just another metaphor
for longing, and life—its own purpose.
How dazzling, this science!
Consider falling for a physicist—
the painstakingly slow way they undress
mathematical mysteries,
talk about bodies in motion
gets me every time—space
—continuum, part, particle—
Atomic. Incandescent! You
are, pound-for-pound, more Life-Source,
more Bomb, more Season-Spinning Searing Center
Heart/Engine/Radiating Nuclear Dynamic
than the Sun. Can't look directly
in the mirror? Small Wonder! Imagine—
none of us powerless.
generated per every human inch, you give
off more milliwatts—surge/energy. Only
the Sun is bigger . . . it matters.
We are all blinded
by love, the endlessly expanding/contracting
universe is just another metaphor
for longing, and life—its own purpose.
How dazzling, this science!
Consider falling for a physicist—
the painstakingly slow way they undress
mathematical mysteries,
talk about bodies in motion
gets me every time—space
—continuum, part, particle—
Atomic. Incandescent! You
are, pound-for-pound, more Life-Source,
more Bomb, more Season-Spinning Searing Center
Heart/Engine/Radiating Nuclear Dynamic
than the Sun. Can't look directly
in the mirror? Small Wonder! Imagine—
none of us powerless.
About This Poem
Inspired by an online video about thermal energy per unit volume, this poem celebrates human radiance and desire for love and knowledge. It was nominated for Best of the Net and first published by Cathexis Northwest Press.