Four Poems
Thermal Dynamics
In 1840 Herr Baumann, half-blind, but overheated
with hope, bought a beautifully crafted glass globe
from a famed German master specializing in eyes
light as bubbles and thin as skin. His hollow orbs,
fragile as Christmas ornaments, were custom-painted
to match each actual eye. The master claimed that
an eye socket never sagged under such insubstantial
weight, a lid could close with comfort and a handsome
countenance could reappear as if unaltered by injury.
from a famed German master specializing in eyes
light as bubbles and thin as skin. His hollow orbs,
fragile as Christmas ornaments, were custom-painted
to match each actual eye. The master claimed that
an eye socket never sagged under such insubstantial
weight, a lid could close with comfort and a handsome
countenance could reappear as if unaltered by injury.
