Size / / /

Under French and Swiss, it loops

straddling resistance and neutrality

in tunnels that are many stories

tall. They'll accelerate particles.

Who knows what that means—

except their white coats and access keys.

The Higgs particle could be in reach.

OK. Signatures of supersymmetry, too.

Right. I say, accelerate this family.

Send mom round the rings.

Counter-rotate dad and kids

all of them riding seven trillion

electron volt beams like some carnie

just set it up in a mall parking lot:

"6 tickets a ride, or get a wristband."

Start the flight that ends with smash.

We'll all super-collide to find immensity,

energy, strange answers to strangers'

questions. Asymmetry's embedded here

in the universe—even families—even moms.

Somebody chose what stays and what goes.

Dark matter, gone. Life, the universe,

everything has 23 per cent dross, so mom

lick your finger, smudge the cheek of all

existence and say, Smile for the camera.


Marcus Goodyear is senior editor for a nonprofit foundation in Texas. His poetry has been published in several magazines including, Geez, Stonework Journal, and 32 Poems. You can read more of his work on his website, GoodWordEditing.com. You can email Marcus by visiting his contact page on his website.



Marcus Goodyear
Current Issue
18 Nov 2024

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In this episode of the Strange Horizons Fiction podcast, Michael Ireland presents Little Lila by Susannah Rand, read by Claire McNerney. Subscribe to the Strange Horizons podcast: Spotify
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