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15 Jul: "Cartoon Physics, part 1" by Nick Flynn

Cartoon Physics, part 1


Children under, say, ten, shouldn't know 
that the universe is ever-expanding,   
inexorably pushing into the vacuum, galaxies 

swallowed by galaxies, whole

solar systems collapsing, all of it 
acted out in silence. At ten we are still learning 

the rules of cartoon animation,

that if a man draws a door on a rock 
only he can pass through it.   
Anyone else who tries 

will crash into the rock. Ten-year-olds 
should stick with burning houses, car wrecks,   
ships going down—earthbound, tangible 

disasters, arenas 

where they can be heroes. You can run 
back into a burning house, sinking ships

have lifeboats, the trucks will come 
with their ladders, if you jump 

you will be saved. A child 

places her hand on the roof of a schoolbus,   
& drives across a city of sand. She knows 

the exact spot it will skid, at which point 
the bridge will give, who will swim to safety 
& who will be pulled under by sharks. She will learn 

that if a man runs off the edge of a cliff 
he will not fall 

until he notices his mistake.

1 comment:

  1. Is the school bus a cartoon?

    The poem is pretty morbid for cartoons. The universe is full of destruction, as is the Earth. Except this cartoon world that has all these strange lighthearted rules of physics.

    The reader has to has to pick out what is real and what isn't in the poem. The universe feels unbelievable, like a cartoon. Does learning cartoon physics make learning "real physics" easier. Can cartoon watchers be more open minded students and scientists?

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