Words, Things and Other Big Bang Stuff

Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709 -1784) famous author of A Dictionary of the English Language published in 1755, wrote in the preface, “ I am not yet so lost in lexicography as to forget that words are daughters of earth, and that things are the sons of heaven.” My thoughts on reading that was what about all the other 21st century stuff, words, and things describing the Big Bang and beyond?

Words: Daughters of Earth

Samuel Johnson called words “the daughters of earth”
acknowledging that Earth must be their mother
that is everything from sadness to madness to mirth
of course it must include every single baby brother.
This family with millions of serious and joyful siblings
between whom there is lots of qualms and quibbling
impacts words, packs a powerful punch and wallop
helps all earthlings communicate, tweet, and gossip.
These daughters have sisters and plenty of cousins
their relative families speak thousands of tongues
thousands of languages and dialects by the dozens
dictionaries define them, put them where they belong.
Oh sisters wherefore art thou and what do you mean?
make yourself understood, about meaning come clean.

Things: The Sons of Heaven

Samuel Johnson wrote “things are the sons of heaven”
some things are numbers, Arabic mathematicians gave us zero
we now have a googleplex and lucky number seven
armies, wars, peace, love, all hail the conquering hero
and what indeed are a few of your favorite things?
“raindrops on roses”, orchids, sashimi, puppies, kittens
the joy of a babies laugh, sounds when the fat lady sings?
Tinian hot pepper sauce, roast tom turkey with all the fixins
a bird singing its heart out, flowers growing after a typhoon
reef fish, seaweed salad, crab legs from the Arctic ocean
pressure and pencil points, eclipses of the sun and moon
millions of meaningful things going through the motions
billions of stars and galaxies from the heavens come
seen from our friendly blue planet with its life giving sun.

Other Stuff: The Big Bang… and what’s become of it

Samuel Johnson knew nothing of the Big Bang and what’s become of it
an explosion in space and time, billions of light years later it still rolls
the beginning of galaxies, stars, planets, how and where they fit
surrounded by darkness, dark energy, dark matter, and black holes
a few weeks ago we got the first composite picture of a black hole
it left the world of astrophysicists and cosmologists gawking
at last perhaps here is a glimpse of an invisible universal soul
proving correct theories of Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking
now we have new ‘words’ to describe these ‘things’ celestial
way beyond Galileo, Copernicus, and Kepler’s imagination
even Isaac Newton’s ‘Principia Mathematica’ would deem it special
considering event horizon, singularity, and darkness of the situation
cosmological theory predicts universal expansion to eternal darkness
universes being born constantly in bubbles, formation of a megaverse
so we now speed along a universal cosmic trail into the ultimate dark
from the Big Bang moment which created a great big cosmic spark.