An electron is excited
by a discrete photon of light
completely separate from all others,
each one like the answer
to a complicated, intriguing, attractive
math problem.

Every climax is definite;
the electron will soon become lazy
and descend to its ground state
as the photon says its final farewell.

Those who become lost
in the alternate universe of mathematics
will eventually, though reluctantly,
emerge to face the imperfections
of the "real" world.

A poet is excited
by a continuous stream of ideas,
each one intertwined with all others
like the answers to a question
with no answer.

What's 00?
0 to any power is 0
and anything to the power of 0 is 1.
00 is poetry.

But now we must descend
from the excited state
of having made poetry from numbers
to the ground state
of "real" life
where they are
like two photons
not excited enough
to make two electrons jump
simultaneously.