Adverbs
nevertheless is an adverb that means
the heretofore does not diminish the hereinafter
or to re-interpret the first law of thermodynamics
time has no friction
nevertheless I am a little more worn out now
than I was a moment ago
this is not caused by time
but by atoms escaping from my skin like
fleas trampolining on a dog’s head
and sometimes failing to return when friction
gravity and the angular momentum of the dog
conspire to have them land instead on the living room carpet
heretofore and hereinafter are also adverbs
so speaking with strictness I should be avoiding them
like fleas excited atoms also experience friction
it is the recoil that reduces their mass when they emit a photon
similar to your recoil when you discover fleas
on your favourite pet and emit a scream
when my grandson was ten I asked him to explain the theory of gravity
he asked me to clarify if I wanted the Newtonian version or Einstein’s
he has autism—the super-intelligent kind—but he didn’t know the inverse rule
regarding separation nor the direct one regarding mass
that’s internet parental controls for you—allow the big picture
but no graphic detail of the equations
equations are neither the trunk end of the elephant nor the tail
rather they are the elephant-proof fencing
used to round-up the beast and brand it with the mark of cain
elegantly I hope
© alexander 2023
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I enjoyed the read without seeing the point. At one point I sensed the jibe at the rule keepers, then it became vague and almost like verbal gymnastics taken beyond tolerance. I have to stress this is just my opinion, not a condemnation of the verse or your undoubted talent for poetry.
Cheers,
Jim
Thank you Jim; I appreciate your feedback. Ah – the point! we could debate the point of all art or any poem and not reach a conclusion though doubtless we would enjoy a few blind alleys along the way. This is simply observation – what’s in front of you, in this case I had challenged my son-in-law, who is a pastor, to use ‘nevertheless’ three different ways in a prayer. The rest is just my reflection on the word and where it joined with other things in front of my mind’s eye. Alex