In the 20's
It was attempted
To introduce
Einstein's theory
of relativity 
to the public
through films
Shown in theatres

& I wonder
If it was summer
or fall

Was it winter
with icicles
hanging from
plaster ceilings

Were the women wearing
hats or gloves
was their hair cut short in a bob,
or piled high on their heads
so high that the old men sitting
behind the crowds
saw nothing
but a glimpse of
the phenomena of the
dilation of time

Were they fascinated,
sitting forward in their chairs
or reaching in their
pockets for the cell phones
yet to come, tapping their
fingers lightly at their seats

too busy thinking
of the greed which haunts
their future & the deaths
which haunt their past

but mostly I wonder
how we got from
there to
here


copyright © melanie browne