quantum

 Part of a poetry writing project that I posted on Mastodon. This one using the word quantum as a seed.

quantum

– steve peterson

how much is the 

wood thrush worth

who sings

a lonely song

each June

in a scrap of woods

behind the house –

a song hopeful

enough to fill the

empty cornfield to the south

brimming with corn

and chemical-resistant larvae?

maybe you can

imagine you wake up

one day 

and this warming world has

constricted 

so tightly

that your voice

(or your grandchild’s)

squeaks

an offering

of hope and longing

at the world’s edge.