“Einstein in the Afterlife” by David Prather (poetry, ’99)

An excerpt from “Einstein in the Afterlife” by David Prather (poetry, ’99) available in the American Journal of Poetry:

 

“Einstein in the Afterlife”

● The Apparent Incompatibility of the Law of Propagation of Light
with the Principle of Relativity

Marilyn Monroe stares at him all day, her white dress billowing up as in a movie poster,
a gang of electromagnetic entities gathered around the hem, all of them charged
with the task of blowing up a wind to keep this all too human
cloth from touching her bare skin.

Or, at least, that’s the theory. Einstein’s brilliance troubles him,
every so-called angel buzzing around his shocking white hair, every dead thinker
plaguing him with stupid questions about space and time. He tells them
it’s all relative, which seems to satisfy them for a while. But not Marilyn. […continue reading here]