Unreal

Street tree at Dishman Community Center.


Chantler63 Shakespeare Challenge and National Poetry Writing Month
Words invented by Shakespeare, Day 12: unreal


I pass this tree almost daily on the way to the pool.
In summer its strangeness is hidden beneath a canopy of leaves.
On cold rainy winter days, I hurry past without looking.
Now, under the bright skies of spring, I see how weird it is.
Half of the branches have normal color and shape, with a multitude of new leaves.
The other half are flattened, grotesque in texture and gesture, like blackened claws.
They remind me of Macbeth's witches.
I can't imagine what caused them to be deformed.
They still struggle to put forth a few tiny leaves.
They are unreal.


Today's poem is a list of things that are or seem unreal in various ways, including paradoxes of mathematics and physics, unrealities of medicine and technology, and a sampling of political pet peeves.


UNREAL

Parallel lines that meet
Schrödinger’s cat dead and alive
All horses the same color
An electron in two places at once
Black holes
Dark matter
Light as particle and wave
Rainbows
Cyberspace
The bit bucket
Interoperability
Windows 8
Secure passwords
Online privacy
Bug fixes
DSM-5
Pain-free
No side effects
As good as new
Guaranteed
Better than ever
Free with purchase
A war to end all wars
World peace
Welfare
House of Representatives
Harmless chemicals
Clean air
Cheap power
Perfection
Reality, if you’re paying attention.