Fatal Shock Mystery:
Experts Look for Answers After Tragedy
Friday, June 13, 2003
As always, how is the question,
superstition trailing. A child, again,
but this time the mystery is more
physical. Or just as.
In my hometown,
after he ooooed and ahhhhed through
my favorite childhood museum,
each questionable atom explained
with tangible scientific exhibits,
molecules lining up to tempt the mind,
recharge adolescence with queries,
the boy and his friend
scampered home simply like a boy and his friend,
unaware of gravity’s pull, of what sparks
our fires, sends the current within
and through.
The city shrugs its shoulders,
confused by the lack of evidence, except the body
electrocuted on the bridge beside the lamppost.
But let’s back up to the boys pitching stones,
trying to squeeze through chain link,
with nothing there suggesting God’s
premeditation.
Not even the scientific
explanation to fall back on or crawl through,
just the body after the jolt
with no hope of knowing where
it came from. The unknown why
is expected, something
we’ve been through before.
—Marjorie Maddox, Williamsport, PA
