Summary

The text is a humorous and reflective piece where the author, after being challenged by her grandson to write about physics, humorously grapples with the subject, ultimately creating a whimsical "law" that equates the combination of poetry and physics to pain.

Abstract

The author of the text, referred to as "Gramita," embarks on a comical exploration of physics at the behest of her grandson, J.D. Despite watching YouTube videos on the subject, her understanding remains elusive, conflating physics with chemistry and other sciences. She humorously laments the challenge, suggesting that the prompt itself is causing her distress, and in a playful twist, she proposes a new "Law of Physics": P+P=P (Poetry + Physics = Pain). The author's struggle with the prompt and her lighthearted creation of a new "law" serve as a satirical commentary on the difficulty of merging seemingly disparate disciplines like poetry and physics.

Opinions

The author views the challenge of combining poetry and physics as daunting and somewhat absurd, leading to a self-deprecating account of her attempts to understand physics.
She expresses a clear distinction between her perceived competence in poetry (pleasure) and her struggle with physics (pain), suggesting that the two disciplines are fundamentally at odds.
The author humorously blames her grandson, J.D., for her headache and the existential crisis brought on by the physics prompt, indicating a playful familial dynamic.
She facetiously claims to have created a new law of physics, poking fun at the scientific process and the rigidity of established laws.
The author reflects on her past education with irony, questioning how she could have excelled in physics if she retains no memory of the subject matter.
She mockingly suggests that her poem defies all scientific laws, including those of logic, in response to the prompt that asked for something "against the laws of physics."
The author concludes with a metaphorical "mic drop" moment, using the concept of gravity to humorously underscore her surrender to the prompt's challenge.

Scrittura Saturday Prompt/ Oh, hell, something about physics

P+P = P

My poetic agony

My granddaughter calls me Gramita, a blend of English and Spanish. Is blending physics? Dang it, no — more Martha Stewart than Isaac Newton.

I don’t know physics. I asked my grandson who does. He was appalled that I was mixing poetry and physics. Thanks, J.D.!

I watched five YouTube videos about the laws of physics. Well, watched is a strong word. I had them on while sitting on my porch looking at ducks and squirrels and raindrops.

Oh, wait, raindrops! Some physics there, right? The falling to the ground and momentum and maybe one of those kinds of energy that I already forgot and gravity — yeah, gravity, some sort of gravity at play, right?

I must have studied physics in school. And, surely, my physics grades were good because my grades were always good. But, my marks in chemistry were too, and damn, I don’t remember any of that beaker stuff.

H2O! Is that physics? Heck, no, that’s chemistry — the only thing I remember from my A in that class. I know some algebra but that’s not the damn prompt. Neither is geometry — thank god — I remember none of it.

I have a headache — thanks, J.D.! And, curing it is medicine, not physics. Or is it? What if I cure my headache by leaping from a bridge? That’s physics, right? Something about motion and gravity and depression.

Wait, depression doesn’t belong there, does it? But this prompt is making me very depressed, so depression must have something to do with physics and with J.D. — isn’t there a Law of Association?

Yeah, there is. It’s psychology — the pleasure-pain thing. Well, that applies here. Poetry is pleasure and physics is pain. But, that’s not the damn prompt! But, it should be, it really should be the damn prompt.

Something like P+P=P Poetry + Physics = Pain Yes! Originality at work here, folks! I created a new Law of Physics!

P+P=P

Take that, J.D. Harms!

But, wait, the prompt was against the laws of physics, wasn’t it? If I make a new law, it’s not against the law of physics, is it?

Hmm, maybe, it is.

I bet my old physics teacher would read this and say:

Everything in this poem is contrary to every law of science, including physics. Did I really give her an A in my class? That grade breaks no Law of Physics but does break all Laws of Logic.

So, J.D., from the virtual mouth of a teacher I can’t recall, every word I wrote here broke every law of any kind of science, including, but not limited to, physics.

Did you hear that boom? It was my mic hitting the ground. That’s gravity. If I could drop it up, it would be this prompt.

A very serious response to this prompt — something to do with physics or anti-gravity or something — from J.D. Harms who owes me the price of a bottle of Advil:

Sustained Vision

28 November 2020 Saturday Poetry Prompt: defy physics prompt

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