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enjoy this writing from Janet Kuypers in the cc&d free 2015 PDF file chapbook: Farewell Chicago (w/ never-before performed poems, and brand new poems) live 8/14/15 at Poetry’s the “Love Letter” feature show Click the title or the cover to download the free PDF file chapbook. |
 
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This writing was accepted for publication in the 108 page perfect-bound ISSN# / ISBN# issue/book “Being Real” cc&d (v264) (the July/August 2016 issue, v26)  You can also order this 6"x9" issue as a paperback book:  |
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Order this writing in the book After the Blues the cc&d July-Dec. 2016 collection book |
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get the 318 page July-Dec. 2016 cc&d magazine issue collection 6" x 9" ISBN# paperback book:
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| shared air
Janet Kuypers (started 7/20/15, finished 7/21/15) I’ve heard the buzz before, that we could be breathing the same molecules breathed in Julius Caesar’s last gasp. Because he was breathing oxygen, and molecules are constantly rearranged and recycled. It could happen. * But wait a minute - why stop at just Julius? Why not Cleopatra, or Caligula? Why not Attila the Hun, or Adolph? And why stop there? We’ve shared the air with the Dinosaurs from T-Rex to Pterodactyls. Someone out there is even hoping a single molecule they’ve breathed was once in Jesus’ lungs. Really. Some people think this way. And these people don’t want to admit we share the air with the homeless people we avoid on the street. So, fine. Figure this out, and master the math. Because math can prove what’s right or wrong, and make the world crystal clear. So some scientists started coming up with numbers: oxygen molecules in the atmosphere? 67, plus 48 zeros. (Wow. That’s a lot.) So make some quick calculations. Over an 80 year lifespan (and Adolph Hitler, or even Caligula, didn’t live close to that long) - but over an eighty year lifespan us humans only breathe point zero zero zero (add 6 more zeros), zero 1 percent of all the oxygen atoms on Earth. Because, you see, with numbers that small you can start to like math more, because with how many oxygen atoms are out there, and how few oxygen atoms on Earth we actually breathe, statistically speaking, well, this becomes the most pathetic way to try to connect yourself with anyone interesting in existence. * I’ve met a few famous people before, and they each tried to say something funny, and trust me, it really fell short, so I made a point to get away. Because it’s true, just because they’re known, doesn’t mean you should know them. I don’t want to find 6 degrees of separation between me and Kevin Bacon, and I don’t want to know if I’ve breathed Aristotle’s air. ‘Cause believe me, it might not be the smartest idea to spend your time fantasizing that you’re linked by shared air to others. Just be busy being someone yourself, and see others wasting their time trying to link to you. |
