Dark Field

[RiverNotch]

Dark Field


Polarized, now I believe
in no God. The metaphysical is madness;
the material, truth. All religions are one
in their stupidity, and light is a wheel
only when bent by gravity -- otherwise,
it is a wave, a particle, a line,
and the dutiful scientist gives
no answers. 
                   
                   Condensed, light splits
through the annular ring, sculpts
a cone of shadow, then passes 
through the specimen, produces
a bright image in a dark field. Resolution
is improved, at cost of color. Solomon
must be proud.

[dukealien]

Dark Field


Polarized, now I believe
in no God. The metaphysical is madness;  nice enjambment:  it takes a lot of polarizing to believe in no God at all... but His difracted light continues to reveal details of the Creation invisible in His full radiance
the material, truth. All religions are one
in their stupidity, and light is a wheel  reference to Ezekiel, or the Wheel of Law?
only when bent by gravity -- otherwise,
it is a wave, a particle, a line,  "line" as in Party Line (political) or as in a play?
and the dutiful scientist gives
no answers. 
                   
                   Condensed, light splits
through the annular ring, sculpts
a cone of shadow, then passes 
through the specimen, produces
a bright image in a dark field. Resolution
is improved, at cost of color. Solomon  very delicate:  Solomon's was only a threat of splitting, yet discovered truth:  in the diffracted penumbra of violence?  "cost of color" a nice alliteration, too
must be proud.  indeed he was... should we fear the fall consequent to our proud discernment?

Had to look this one up - illumination by absolute indirection.  Quite a concept... but dangerous to the object of exmaination since it is actually struck by the whole energy of the beam, of which the observer sees only the difracted fraction.

Having a little trouble with "dutiful" describing the scientist.  Aside from the Wheel which may be alluded to above, to what (in light of what?) is the scientist's duty?  Right practice of Science, Justice (Solomonic), or mere truth (which is never complete)?

I do like object lessons describing other things in terms of science (and vice versa).  Good and thought-provoking - have little to say of the poetic aspects, sorry.

[RiverNotch]

Thanks for the feedback! Actually, "wheel", "line", and "dutiful" are all there since this was written, in part, as a response to this: http://www.pigpenpoetry.com/thread-17819...98050.html ; both are special cases in that I don't normally write about topics closely related to my field of study. I've never really given much thought to the term "dutiful" in either case, but I think contrasting between the messages of the two pieces could help in providing it meaning. And it is interesting, that you note "line" as possibly political -- "and the dutiful scientist gives/asks" could easily pop, under such a mindset.

[Lizzie]

Hello River. Good stuff here. I like that you're writing from your field of study -- it's obvious that you know what you're talking about (not saying that in any way to contrast with your other writing, just saying).

Dark Field


Polarized, now I believe
in no God. The metaphysical is madness;
the material, truth. All religions are one
in their stupidity, and light is a wheel
only when bent by gravity -- otherwise,
it is a wave, a particle, a line,
and the dutiful scientist gives -- and like the dutiful scientist, this poem gives no final answers as well. I like that. I like that sentiment too -- letting the questions just be questions.
no answers. 
                   
                   Condensed, light splits
through the annular ring, sculpts
a cone of shadow, then passes 
through the specimen, produces
a bright image in a dark field. Resolution -- You can do better than 'bright' and 'dark'. Image is fine but some more interesting words, I think. 'Resolution is improved' is very textbook sounding. Takes me out of poetry mode.
is improved, at cost of color. Solomon
must be proud. -- love the last line. I think you should set if off more with spacing.

I like the scientific themes -- they're just as spiritual as anything else. If people aren't willing to do the work to figure out what you're saying, it's their loss.

[Achebe]

Dark Field


Polarized, now I believe
in no God. The metaphysical is madness;
the material, truth. All religions are one
in their stupidity, and light is a wheel ...... what does relativity have to do with light being a wheel?
only when bent by gravity -- otherwise,
it is a wave, a particle, a line,
and the dutiful scientist gives
no answers. ......what's the question? The "paradox" of the wave / particle duality is a century old now. Most scientists would answer "get over it"
                   
                   Condensed, light splits
through the annular ring, sculpts
a cone of shadow, then passes 
through the specimen, produces
a bright image in a dark field reference. Resolution ....ok, up to "field" it's fantastic. But I'm not sure of what process you're describing. Diffraction has nothing to do with x-rays. If that's the dark field.

is improved, at cost of color. Solomon
must be proud.

RN, some sweet lines but I'm not clear as to their meaning.

[RiverNotch]

@lizziep: i can't. dark field microscopy is the name of the actual process, and bright is enough. as for "resolution is improved", it's "at cost of color", so the deflation of poetry mode is intended big time. thanks for the feedback!
@achebe: no idea about relativity intruding here, so i can't answer that. the comment on wave particle duality is mostly there because this was written as a sort of response to an earlier piece, so without alternatives, i can't offer a non-biased answer to that. as well, i also have no idea about x-rays here; as noted, both extratextuality, within the text, and by the title itself, the process is about dark field microscopy. my field isn't physics, so i have a far more practical knowledge of the concepts discussed here -- may be the reason why you're associating with concepts barely defined for me. may need elaboration.
as for the meaning, again i'm gonna be biased here and say that this is meant to work in conjunction with an earlier piece, linked above. i'm not gonna tie the two into one mega-piece as i did with a couple of earlier stabs, however, since if they were to ever be presented they have to be separated by the gulf of time, ie by either narrative or other, more colorful pieces. such an interpretation, i think, hinges on what is effectively a coming of age, a dulling of the senses, but i bet there's something slighter there that i have no idea is actually there (whether good or bad, too, i have no idea). thanks for the feedback!

again, thanks for the feedback!