Lepton

Philip Berry

we are run through
by packets of time
indivisible shots from a sun
that began to die
the day it was born
they are to us
a stranger’s glance
on a crowded street
there is no collision
no heat no sound
no lasting impression
or potential for love
no change of course
or branching of fates
we are run through
but do not bleed

The Science

We are 99.99999% nothing. The nucleus of a hydrogen atom is 100,000 smaller than the diameter of the atom itself; its single electron orbits loyally, but at an immense distance. Between them lies space.

Take a shot at an atom, and the chances are you won’t hit a thing. Leptons are elementary particles that do not undergo ‘strong interactions’. The charged varieties include the electron, muon and tau.

Neutral leptons, known as neutrinos, stream out from the sun in great numbers. They pass through us, but we do not notice.

The Poet

Philip is a London based NHS doctor and writer. His poems have appeared in Dream Noir, Black Bough Poetry, Lucent Dreaming and Re-side among others. He also writes speculative fiction and creative non-fiction. His work and books can be explored at www.philberrycreative.wordpress.com or @philaberry.

Next poem: Mapping by Josh Mcloughlin