The Experiment

THE EXPERIMENT

The experiment
was conceived
out of two minds
not as a game
like chess
to give further excitement
exactness
two minds
so tuned together
they gave birth
to a single thought of death
And when one died
the other knew
not only the thoughts
of the dying
but for just a moment,
after the heart stopped,
before the blood of the brain
congealed,
the first telepathed thoughts
from beyond the point of death.
For a long time
he did not stir.
Did not
then
speak
but before he went
into the sleep that became
nonrecovering coma
he left two scribbled sheets,
the result of the experiment,
the sight of infinity.
She knew the content of the notes
even before they were removed
to her handbag.
Some weeks later a car
crashed on the motorway
the driver having fallen asleep at the wheel.
Some charred pieces of paper were found
in the burnt-out wreckage.
There was a half-smile on her face.

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Sheffield, 3rd February 1973

Publications

1974 THE PURPLE HOURS (Manchester, Lisa Conessa)
1986 Raw Bone (USA)
1992 STEALING KISSES (Hyde, New Hope International)
1997 Dark Planet (Internet)
2014 Cosmopoetry (Internet)