neutrinos (suggested by Sue)
vanilla, strawberry, chocolate
infant, youth, adult
black, gray, white
electron, muon, tau
smaller than the eye can see
faster than the eye can follow
lighter than the lightest touch
of a butterfly on a flower
from the beginnings of the universe
the big bang
and the little bangs as stars are born
and live
and die
scattered to all directions
through time
and space
and imagination
lonely particle
exchanging solitude
for one brief, bright moment
of contact
Sue also told me about John Updike’s poem, Cosmic Gall.
As per my usual, I went online and randomly (more or less) selected a few pages that seem accessible to help me write about neutrinos. The first one is What’s a Neutrino hosted at U.C. Irvine. This was just about at my level. The second is the Particle Adventure site, which has strong credentials and is dedicated to helping people understand particle physics. This is about high school level (or, slightly above where I currently reside in understanding). And finally an article from Nature.com that shows an image of the tracks that neutrinos leave behind when they improbably touch other particles, while discussing the possibility that a recent (2011) experiment might actually show neutrinos traveling faster than light. Just for clarification, it was later determined that there were measurement errors that led to the findings; at this point in time we do not have evidence that neutrinos can travel faster than light.
The first stanza relates to the idea of the “flavors” neutrinos come in.
The second stanza is descriptive and highly metaphorical.
The third stanza is intentionally vague, referring to the origins of the particles.
The fourth stanza describes the journies neutrinos take.
And the fifth and last stanza refers to the only way we have “proof” of neutrinos: their death throes.