Sir Isaac Newton’s First Law of Metaphor

Am I an object at rest or in motion?

Newton proposes an object
at rest remains at rest but by
remains, does he mean dead body
or just unmoving item — of course
that’s metaphorical ground, no? But,
to read, write, or comprehend that phrase
one must be a flesh-coated polygon
that breathes, heart beating mainly
seventy-two times a minute —

an object, anything but at rest.

Gary D. Grossman
Mid-Atlantic Review
6 December 2024