there is more room
in space
for dark matter
than we calculated
still, we cling to the dirt
of a tilted planet
in a lopsided universe
and wonder how
we skew so easily dark
the answer
is not in philosophy
or theology
but in physics,
coded in the dust
of stars
no brighter than
motes dancing in
/!/
sunlit
or broken on pavement
Susan Daniels Poetry 
hits the heart of it Susan…that dark matter is everywhere…and is not darker just for being nearer…
(motes dancing in /!/ of sunlight?)
Perfect place for an !
lost a word in my editing…
oh, I just meant that I thought you may have wanted “in” of “of” but not both….don’t know how to show diacritical marks in comments…but that does rather make one think perhaps of a mote, dancing in a shaft of light….
Oops! “in” OR “of”
I’d wondered about that.
One of those things–JCC alerted me to the missing word, and I liked the /!/ better.
Beautiful.
Thank you.
When star matter and dark matter meet. Thoughtful, Susan. Thanks.
Thanks, Georgia. How else make sense of this? Is there sense to be made?
couldn’t agree more.
Thanks, Shrinks.
That dark matter, broken on pavement is a very striking image Susan ~ My heart goes out to all those who were affected by this senseless act ~
Thank you, Grace, and mine, does, as well.
Great poetry and brilliant turn at the end to current events.
Thanks so much, Bjorn.
It’s not the darkness beyond us that I worry about; it’s the darkness that’s within us that is the problem.
Oh, I agree.
So good. You really capture this in a relatively short poem.
Thank you, Coreena.
Stars and dark matter…yes, we are that. Nicely captured as always x
Oh, thank you–hey, long time no see 😉
I’ve been hibernating but I’m awake again! 🙂
Yay! You must be a spring poet, as I am 😉
You are a woman for all seasons…don’t try to deny it 😉
Aw, thanks. Easier for me to write in the spring, though.
You hit me in my sweet spots.
Thank you, Paul.
nice! I love your opening… brilliantly tied to your ending …motes dancing. I like your connection w physics much.
Jane, thank you! Was listening to NOR on the way home this morning, and a story came on about the shape of the universe, etc., and this thought popped into my head.
makes me think of Solzhenitsyn – excellent!
I like the depth of thought in this Susan – great writing and speaks profoundly to the moment.
Oh, wow–thanks. Had to look him up and found this:
“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956
And thank you, Scott!
This encapsulates all the feelings whirling in my mind. Peace to us all.
Oh, I am all a whirl, too. Yes, peace.
Excellent poem… you sum the feelings up so succinctly!
THank you, Di.
I’m still trying to process what I know and don’t know, how I feel and wonder why numbness won’t go away. This is beautifully written.
Thank you, Beth. I am so tired of this…
this may be one of your best, which says a lot
Thank you, Ray.
very profound!
Thanks, Akila.
Strong words Susan… Thanks for such
Oh, thanky ou!
Well done! This is a lopsided universe, but I still hope that there is more to it than physics. At any rate, if philosophy and theology do not have the answers, maybe poetry does!
Well said, Nico!
Perhaps there is no such thing in physics as ‘nothing’.
Think that’s true.