They Say Even Molecules Change Their Behavior Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

they say even molecules change their behavior
when they are watched.
perhaps they don't want to be

butterfly board pinned down
by those collecting data however altruistically.
likewise, 'the poor'

sleeping out of doors
pinpointed by the possibly
warm hearted census takers

will hide out on the day it's
an all out effort being made
at giving back to that

population; at least,
in terms of counting them.
who is free from speculation?

calculation?

from being marked as part of
some particular herd
by the overweening.

and not at all seen

for the snowflake unique
someone they feel
themselves to be or used to feel

or never feel at all like a perpetual
numbness in everlating snows or
crying themselves to sleep or Death

amidst the golden keening of the angels.

are birds? free?
at least the untagged ones
with no migrations tracked.

and do they sing more beautifully then?
knowing they've escaped
that kind of fate

mary angela douglas 21 november 2015