Newton's Cradle

[cidermaid]

Hi Todd,
Similarly to tectak I feel somewhat reluctant to dive into this and offer my thoughts...but from the other end of the spectrum. I am not a well read or particularly up on the in scientific sound bites of string, chaos, or any of the other popular theories that are currently doing the rounds.
So I guess as I approach this my first question will be, is this beyond my understanding, will it be too technically symbolic and science theory encoded to be accessible to me. I mention this to indicate where my starting basis is, as I approach this.

It was the title that hooked me in to have a read before I saw what section it was in or your name as an author so I think as far as it goes this makes it a good title with a strong image connection that I readily understood.
The title gives me an image of the popular desk toy of the 70's - 80's that was meant to demonstrate the conservation of momentum and energy. I have a recollection that it was all about the transference of a shock wave

- so I am thinking that this poem is going to be talking about, the effects of a shock wave in society or life in general and how these are perpetuated. This makes for an interesting thought / idea that i like very much.

Terror is never as simple as a doll
with a butcher’s knife crawling
through ventilation shafts. I'm thinking of almost every horror film I have ever seen. The paranoia and raw fear of being hunted by an impossible and undefeatable force. I particularly like the subtly of the reference to the ventilation shaft. A small space connected with a life essential. Subliminally my thought immediately take me to a sense of being cut off (how small is a nose or a mouth when the need for air is so great)

It is always the unseen
clacking ball, the imperceptible
connections,
of butterflies wings and tornadoes. I like what this stanza is saying, but do not like "connections" standing alone. To my eye and ear, I would place clanking ball on a line and move the imperceptible down to join connections. + is the comma needed after connections? (JMO). I have enough knowledge of the catch words and pictures to get the butterflies and tornadoes ref so I'm still hanging in there.

We scan the skies for flying monkeys.
Or wander through corn fields
to the music of the moon with its midnight waltz
of straw zombies in need of brains--
simple distractions to protect us from the truth. Yep still with you (on my level anyway).... wizard of OZ pictures. Dream state / confusion / unreality.

The witch cackle, cackles and you will believe
that you can never go home: ...and here's the meat of the fear.

where the fingerprint will smudge
cancer on an X-ray,

where the clatter of the metal duct
covers the creak of tiny feet on hardwood,

and where the funnel cloud swirls
like a swarm of restless bees. Cancer / murdered / holocaust..which will it be. Which swing ball will hit us out of the game with a transferred shock wave

The ball is already swinging. Great image to communicate the passing of time...the ticking clock, the running of sand in a timer...the ball swing slowly reducing. Love this connection.

Death comes first
then the dying. Nicely put. good ending.

it would seam that i had little to fear. Whilst it might be that my thoughts have trivialised a deep read with shallow appreciations in answer to my first question - Will I be able to get anything out of this is?, or is it as I feared from (wrongly) reading tectaks comments before critiquing, (let that be a lesson to me) beyond my understanding because of the subtle and clever use of "deeper things" than I have a grasp of...the answer is a resonding:- Yes. There is plenty that I can get hold of and work.
So thanks for the read Todd. Apart from a couple of very minor nits over punctuation I think is is well concieved and crafted.