"Schroedinger's Thought Experiment" was first published in Spider Eyes (USA, 1990) and included in Gerald's collection Stealing Kisses (NHI, UK 1992).
Gerald England is a British poet, living on the edge of the Pennines with his lace-making wife, a son and a Manchester terrier. He has been active on the small press scene for over 27 years and edits New Hope International. He has published ten collections of poetry and been translated into several languages. His work has also appeared on various websites and he is a member of Cyberscribers, a group of writers on the Internet.
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Schroedinger's Thought Experiment
by Gerald England
In the box there is a cat
and a capsule of cyanide.
The chances of the capsule
disintegrating, releasing deadly gas,
killing the cat,
are strictly fifty-fifty.
When we open the box
the cat will be alive
else the cat will be dead.
Until we open the box
what is the state of the cat ?
The relativity physicist
simply doesn't know.
The quantum physicist
is not at all uncertain -
the cat is both alive and dead -
in suspended animation.
It is his opening of the box
that will resolve the matter
one way or the other.
The cat is an existentialist.