Petard

We hoped to see things as they are

by which we meant without us.

We thought once we stripped away

smell, taste, color — 

anything improper — 

leaving only location

and number,

the thing

would be naked

on the teeter-totter

of an equation.

2

Then Archimedes

told another one.

If I had a long enough lever

and a fulcrum,

I’d get a high

resolution image

of objectified bodies

and hoist myself

on my own petard.