filament
nobody knew what it meant
but they went with it
thinking [amongst themselves]
they’d figure it out as they went along
it was a strand
not like a piece of cloth
not like tungsten inside
an incandescent vessel
but like the tiniest clue
a piece of a key
an eighth of the characters
from an ancient code
its length is immeasurable
stretching beyond the milky way
likely visible than not
capable of shaping itself
into a chameleon
or a firefly
a child’s teardrop
december two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 