Pauli Exclusion
I may not be a physicist,
but I know an atom’s
electrons spin opposite, half
to half, positive to negative.
What this means is
even at matter’s most basic,
we’re asymmetric. Biologists claim
we’re bilateral, like planaria cut
in two, though it’s all a ruse:
dimorphic logic for a superficial
answer to similarity and difference.
No, our (a)symmetry isn’t
split into re-
cursive flatworms or clams or
any class of invertebrates,
our matter isn’t the hemolymph
of beetles or grasshoppers or
praying mantises that wave hello
from my backdoor gable.
What if I said everything
was chaos
composed of subatomic particles,
the smallest gyrations counter-
counter-clockwise, halfway left,
halfway right? No need to believe me
to understand the truth: What truth?
I’m not the first to say life is
a perception of reality. Our bodies
exist because we make them.
Scientists are simply masters
of justifying their observations
through repetition—but all I know,
lies.
Dani Putney is a queer, non-binary, Asian American poet exploring the West. Their work most recently appears in Cold Mountain Review, The Shore, and Thin Air Online, among other publications. Presently, they're infiltrating a small conservative town full of cowboys in the middle of the Nevada desert.