On Method -- Mary Margaret Sloan

"………since this desire constrained me to remove from all those places where interruption from any of my acquaintances was possible……….I have been enabled to live without being deprived of any of the conveniences to be had in the most populous cities, and yet as solitary and retired as in the midst of the most remote deserts." René Descartes


Desirous of instruction, we find first
what falls into our hands, simple branches
esteemed as curious and rare, with a benefit
not quite explicit, but verified, certain to prevail.

After waiting at the gate, creating an impression
of piety, so as to view the image of a star,
pass the threshold into the palaces of our instructors.
Unverifiable estimates of the naked eye hold
true only among the accidents

not the nature of one of the same
species or its substitute, a metal intricacy,
its shining works. Over the sound of running water
intermittent cries rush up a nerve, touch, wreck.