A good poem needs no explanation. This is not a good poem. But the explanation for it is better than the thing itself. This video was featured on the “RadioLab” podcast of September 10, 2012 called “What a Slinky Knows.”
SELF PORTRAIT AS SLINKY
I am steel coil
propelled by my own momentum I bounce
I stretch
I am graceful, sinuous—a slinky silver dress
I bend
I curve
I am simple, common
And yet, I can do magic
Dangle me over the edge of a cliff
Until I can extend myself no farther, then release
Me into a state of constant collapse
My top half will fall while my bottom half hovers
Defying the law of gravity
I rotate and contort as the compressions press against me
It takes a lot for me to fall.
