Tim says: I have always been interested in science and, to a point, following current events as best I can. Unlike science, current events tend to change day to day; it usually takes science a few days to catch up.
Black holes* have always fascinated me. What are they? Where do they come from? Where do they go? How can massive objects — whose gravity is so strong even light and possibly time cannot escape, and which are now believed to be the center of every one of the billions of galaxies scattered throughout the known universe — even exist?
And what is all this hoopla about global warming? Is it? Isn’t it? Do we know for sure?
“By golly, Tim,” you might now be asking yourself, “what the hell do black holes and global warming have in common, and where are you heading with this?”
Well, you see … more than a decade ago I wrote this really weird poem…
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One Hundred Feet Below Sea Level
Our houses will be reefs someday,
When the poles shift,
Or the ozone fails,
The ice caps melt,
Aquacious monuments,
One hundred feet below sea level.
The continents are old
And ancient movement
Is measured in inches.
What once was here
Will soon once be there.
Snorkeled tourists will float,
Peering downward,
Or sink, bubbles rising,
For closer observation.
Rooftop skylights,
Intimately outlined in coral,
Too far below to own,
But delicately enticing.
Scuba divers
Find riding lawn mowers
Silently locked inside of sheds,
Patios and stone walls
Awash with shadow and distortions.
Ornamental trees, once leafed,
Now skeletal.
Surface tension
Sucks seashores
To the skirts of the mountains,
Where whales sing liquid songs,
Connecting the canyons,
And sightseers once shot
White water on rubber rafts.
The Earth is old
And ancient movement
Is measured in miles per second.
What once was here
Will soon once be there,
Twirling around our sun,
Like continents in motion,
In concert with the system,
Itself minuscule.
Planets within galaxies,
Seas within oceans,
Expanding from a central horizon,
Measured in light years
And tidal action.
Mass and densities
Manipulated by gravitational forces,
Dancing in balance.
Holes within black holes,
Floes within currents,
Light bending so tightly,
That what lies ahead
Is seen from behind,
Until there is nothing,
No seas and no oceans.
Our houses will be reefs someday,
When the poles shift,
Or the ozone fails,
The ice caps melt.
Aquacious monuments,
One hundred feet below sea level.
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* If you have read the “black hole” link in today’s Simply Tim, you have once again used the incredible services of Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a non-profit organization who can use your help. If you by-passed Wikipedia’s “Please Read” section during your previous visit, I urge you to check it out now.
You are a truly talented writer. With multiple interests, as we are. The Science Channel is one of our favorites (Through the Worm Hole). Maybe you should send your poem to the likes of Mr. Hawking.
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Thank you. I have found the science community more “receptive” of this poem that the general public.
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Series? I never thought to look if there were any sequels or anything… hmm…
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I hear Harrison Ford might be involved in making a video game called “Ender’s Game”. I’m not interested in the game, but I LOVE that book!!
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You know, there’s a SERIES of those books. They are all good.
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Great poem, Tim. Have you watched the 3-D movie/doc. “Hubble”? You would love it. You don’t have to watch in 3-D, it’s great just in hi-def.
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Thank you — I will look that up! I am crazy about those types of shows.
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Cool! Ever see the movie “Waterworld”? I’m not a fan of Kevin Costner, but the film had some interesting ideas about what things would be like if the world was all underwater due to the poles melting, just like your poem!
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Great movie. The book was pretty good, too!
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Tim, I am speechless……but in a very good way. Doesn’t happen often, does it?
ryal….love me
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Lol!
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