An Eniwetok Atoll of the Mind


icecap02.loo

In Mandelbrot’s greatest scenes we seem to see
that stunning moment in which
mathematics became
fissionable

They pour upon the monitor
dice roll symphonies
parameter powered
plutonium geraniums
perfect in dirtless reality

I have seen the brightest minds of my generation
mouse-click crawling
down the spiral streets at dawn
looking for that heavenly
something that isn’t self-similar

The spiral twists and tricks
us into twisting along with it
mathematicians bail out here
but the artists ask why
why is it all the same?

The mathematicians come and go
talking of something I don’t know

Johnny Appleseeds
virtually respected
plant the same formula
in every forum they pass
and quickly link away

The threads have strange usernames
tweak holes in digital doilies
clamp chaos in cuff-links
the uninformed in uniform
with engines
that devour our bandwidth

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