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 We’re headed for Oregon
on the aptly named Transam to dip our toes in the pacific more than three thousand miles from our start The turkey vultures lurking in the trees scouting for fresh prey will have to wait hold off boys we tell them haven’t you heard ninety is the new eighty and dead the new ninety. And so we cycle on through undulating fields of towering corn past barns with American flags the rusting iron ruins of industrial towns lining the abandoned railroad tracks the tumbledown backwoods shacks where the only sign of life is a Christmas wreath nailed to the front door places in the mountains so remote they consist of a post office and one lone gas pump. Given our advanced age you might ask what happens if one of us perishes on route. We’ll simply dig a deep hole by the side of the road say a brief prayer helmet in hand send an e-mail to their kin and carry on. We’ll still be cycling in the sweet hereafter our Treks chained to the pearly gates lest an angel or a saint be tempted to swipe one and pedal away  the cat awakened us at three
instead of the customary six with a cry so human we thought a teething baby had crept into our bed she led us to the sliding door pacing back and forth as if to warn us of some vicious creature lurking in the damp leaves beyond the compass of the floodlight an opossum or the bloated white cat who patrolled the neighborhood like an overweight thug in search of fresh prey hush we said it’s nothing but the wind go back to sleep and rubbed the warm soft spot beneath her chin until she purred and dozed off on her velour pillow but we who shuffled back to bed lay awake until dawn tossing and turning in the tangled sheets with visions of impending doom dancing in our groggy heads.  Zeroth, the universal force and desire to move toward balance, plays prominently into my belief system.
Both my college-professor parents discussed potential within their respective fields as the primary force driving reality. I misunderstood concepts, a running joke among my siblings, how I got things wrong, often taking things literally. Daddy taught philosophy of science, centering around ancient Greeks theories on education, and the laws of thermodynamics. I understood his simplified explanations about energy and thermodynamics. A heating source disperses heat molecules into a room, dividing them until everything reaches the same temperature. It’s the differences in temperature that causes heat to move, thus zeroth, the synergy of all three laws of motion. Motion means change, at a molecular level. Gravitational force is when larger objects pull smaller objects toward them. Both movements come from the universe trying to achieve balance. The laws of thermodynamics explain how movement works, with potential proven by the outcome. If it couldn’t do it, it wouldn’t do it, said the ancient Greeks. They were all about predicting outcomes from observations. By gathering data, patterns become obvious, illuminating reality beyond our limited horizons. The sun shining on an object reveals minute details, with the outcome being greater understanding.  Thank you for submitting your poem to (name redacted).
We enjoyed reading your work. After careful consideration have decided that we cannot use it. We wish you luck in placing your poetry elsewhere. Dear Editors, I have a suggestion as to where you can place it. However, it will require a simple surgical procedure. Best of luck with this elsewhere placement.
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