Plutonium

Plutonium

Alex Kreutzer

Inside
a beryllium heart
the two-thirty-nine pulses,
nervous excitement pushing
and pressing itself
against a silver
sphere of
pristine dimension.

Our universe,
born outward from
360 savagely
perfect degrees,
holds its breath,
waiting
for the fragile
heartbreak.

One silent moment�

hesitation,
contemplation,
doubt.

With a single frightened
word
the neutrons drive
new life into
themselves,
expanding and blooming into a billion
runaway children,
slicing into oblivion,
force-fucking chaos
across
the blistering shadow
of a brilliant orange horizon.