A poem by Michael Stewart

— E —

It is surely ironic that E or epsilon,
Considered simple in Hellenic grammar,
Represents ergs, or ergon, and is measured,
Since Einstein, in alpha, beta, and gamma.

I think of William Blake, or what he foretold.
Of Democritus, of Newton’s particles of light.
Lo, he might have said, where the nuclear umbrella
Sprouts like a tent on desert sands as white

As the lamb or the wrath of God. Nothing is simple.
In spite of Democritus, E is not a simple letter.
He thought that epsilon was simple, atoms were simple,
And he was surely clever, but now we know better.

Editor’s note: Have you ever been in the presence of a person who can remake all of history on a whim? Sometimes that’s what it was hanging with Michael Stewart. Of course, when we weren’t in class, we were drinking a fair surfeit of beer. And more beer. And chasing ideas wither they went. I have reports of others that confirm similar experiences. If you have seen Dr. Stewart lately, please ask him to call.