| A few years ago, a friend who is a scientist told me emotions rob people of common sense and progress. In response I brought up this story, that Archimedes died at the hands of the invading Romans when he had a chance to escape; allegedly, a soldier approached him and Archimedes didn’t even move, too preoccupied with his work to even look up, and was slain. Hence, Archimedes’ pursuit of discovery robbed him of his own life. Later, my friend confessed that my work as a poet brought out a new emotional response to his own work, and that he was frustrated by this. This poem is a result of that push and pull between curiosity and thinking one knows “what’s best.” | 
