Almost Everything is Unseen

By Michael Shoemaker

Students visit the university to see

through an electron microscope

A biologist sets samples enlarged a thousand times.

A 3-D image of dirt bacteria appears, soil from sneakers

He reveals a moth egg, amoeba, barnyard grass

previously the mundane, now seeds of unseen worlds

“When you could not see these, did they not exist?

Did their existence begin under the microscope?

Can you only believe what you see with your eyes?”

An eleven-year-old blurts out,

“If you can only believe what you see

you almost can’t believe anything.

Almost everything is unseen.”

The scientist blinks, closes his eyes and nods.

---

Michael Shoemaker is a poet, writer, and photographer. His writing has appeared in Ancient Paths Literary Journal, The Clayjar Review, Front Porch Review, Littoral Magazine, Pure Slush: Achievement Anthology and elsewhere. He lives in Magna, Utah with his wife, and son where he enjoys looking out on the Great Salt Lake every day. Michael enjoys hiking, pickleball and tennis. He is looking forward to poems being published in Poetry Pacific Anthology in 2024. His online photography portfolio can be visited here.