A Diminutive Poem

I. Purge

“With so much nausea and diarrhea, I thought for two days that I was dying,” said an unidentified Chinese man after eating a frozen dumpling.
“They tasted bitter. I felt dizzy some 30 seconds after I had them and collapsed," said an 18-year-old boy. Five minutes later his 51-year-old father's body started twitching.
The 47-year-old mother could not walk or talk.
“My whole body was paralyzed and my eyes kept watering,” she said. “I don’t want to buy frozen food anymore.”

II. Remember

Japanese researchers have implanted a semiconductor camera inside the hippocampus of a mouse’s brain. The mouse recalled the trauma of his birth and a blue light appeared on a screen. The mouse, now with a mighty headache, will be allowed to walk soon. He does not yet have Parkinson's.

III. Absence

It is the end of January. The mixture of moisture and cold air did not climax enough to produce snow this month in New York City. It was the first time in 75 years. Perhaps there will be a dance of flakes in February. Hold out your tongues.

IV. Bloom

In a frequently fractious farming town, riots broke out yesterday when suspects were arrested for the illegal sale of flowers.

V. Flash

Pandora’s heart beat so fast and loud, that it seemed for a moment to drown all other sounds.

VI. Hope

Should she open the box?

{lm}