you know that thing

you know that thing
that
someone had said
about insanity
meaning
doing the same thing
(not working)
and expecting something different
(successful)
next
time

I don’t mean
the tungsten thing
you know
when
Edison tried a hundred filaments or so
to light a light bulb for
a while

‘cause
each time
he tried a different substance
and
in fact
could say he found
he found a hundred ways
not
to light
a light bulb

of course
then what happened
maybe not with Edison
was that
light bulbs were staying lit
too
long
and so they were
changed
to stay lit for
shorter lengths of
time
(like Shakespeare’s brief candle
meaning length
of life)
and so
less lengthy
so to say
light bulbs were re-invented
re-provided

thus
securing
among other things
our
disposable society

then there was
the Stanley Steamer
which
is
if similar
another story

c l couch


photo by Félix Girault on Unsplash