Schrödinger Is Considered for Publication

You will hear from us within thirty days.
Meanwhile, you are neither here nor there,
someone either hates or loves it, you do
not know. Be content with the mystery.

The Copenhagen Interpretation states
until you hear from us you are both published
and in the bin. The Many Worlds version
sees one of you in print and the other

spiked. Guess which world you find yourself in.
Wigner, the Editor’s friend, thinks he saw
Schrödinger borrow some lines from Einstein.
Will it make a difference if he tells?

While the coin spins, it is hard to know
if it is heads or tails, or just the price
someone pays for a self-addressed envelope
an observer has slit open, and reads.


—David Barber