We dance for laughter,
we dance for tears,
we dance for madness,
we dance for fears,
we dance for hopes,
we dance for screams,
we are the dancers,
we create the dreams.
*****
I can’t find anyone other than Einstein credited with this verse, but I also can’t find the source for it. Regardless, Einstein had an appropriate attitude for studying the universe: look at it and ourselves in the spirit of dance, learning, dreaming and creativity.
Photo: “Aðstæður til náms” by sfjalar is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Form in Formless Times 
I haven’t heard of Albert Einstein writing poetry. I have, however, taken some of his quotes and turned them into poems.
A question that sometimes drives me hazy:
am I or are the others crazy?
—Albert Einstein, poetic interpretation by Michael R. Burch
***
Relativity and the “Physics” of Love
interpretation as a poem by Michael R. Burch
Sit next to a pretty girl for an hour,
it seems like a minute.
Sit on a red-hot stove for a minute,
it seems like an hour.
That’s relativity!
Oh, it should be possible
to explain the laws of physics
to a barmaid! . . .
but how could she ever,
in a million years,
explain love to an Einstein?
All these primary impulses,
not easily described in words,
are the springboards
of man’s actions—because
any man who can drive safely
while kissing a pretty girl
is simply not giving the kiss
the attention it deserves!
***
Solitude
interpretation as a poem by Michael R. Burch
Solitude is painful
when one is young,
but delightful
when one is more mature.
I live in that solitude
which was painful in my youth,
but seems delicious now,
in the years of my maturity.
Now it gives me great pleasure, indeed,
to see the stubbornness
of an incorrigible nonconformist
so warmly acclaimed . . .
and yet it seems vastly strange
to be known so universally
and yet be so lonely.
***
Morality
interpretation as a poem by Michael R. Burch
Still, as far as I’m concerned,
I prefer silent vice
to ostentatious virtue:
I don’t know,
I don’t care,
and it doesn’t make any difference!
***
Against Hubris
interpretation as a poem by Michael R. Burch
Science without religion is lame,
religion without science is blind,
and whoever undertakes to establish himself
as the judge of Truth and Knowledge
is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.
***
War and Peace
interpretation as a poem by Michael R. Burch
But heroism on command,
senseless violence,
and all the loathsome nonsense
that goes by the name of patriotism:
how passionately I hate them!
Perfection of means
and confusion of ends
seem to characterize our age
and it has become appallingly obvious
that our technology
has exceeded our humanity,
that technological progress
is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal,
and that the attempt to combine wisdom and power
has only rarely been successful
and then only for a short while.
It is my conviction
that killing under the cloak of war
is nothing but an act of murder.
(I do not know what weapons
World War III will be fought with,
but World War IV will be fought
with sticks and stones.)
Oh, how I wish that somewhere
there existed an island
for those who are wise
and of goodwill! . . .
In such a place even I
would be an ardent patriot,
for I am not only a pacifist,
but a militant pacifist.
I am willing to fight for peace,
for nothing will end war
unless the people themselves
refuse to go to war.
Our task must be to free ourselves
by widening our circle of compassion
to embrace all living creatures
and the whole of nature and its beauty.
And peace cannot be kept by force;
it can only be achieved by understanding.
***
Mystery
interpretation as a poem by Michael R. Burch
There are two ways to live your life—
one is as though nothing is a miracle,
the other is as though everything is a miracle.
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious:
it is the source of all true art and all science.
He to whom this emotion is a stranger,
who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe,
is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.
***
Curiosity
interpretation as a poem by Michael R. Burch
The important thing is not to stop questioning.
Curiosity has its own reason for existing.
One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity,
of life, of the marvelous structure of reality.
It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day.
Never lose a holy curiosity.
People do not grow old no matter how long we live.
We never cease to stand like curious children
before the great Mystery into which we were born.
***
Character
interpretation as a poem by Michael R. Burch
Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds
because anger dwells only in the bosom of fools
and weakness of attitude soon becomes weakness of character.
Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity (and I’m not sure about the former);
furthermore, we can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.
The world is a dangerous place: not just because of the people who are evil,
but also because of the good people who don’t do anything about it.
He who joyfully marches to music rank and file has already earned my contempt:
he has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.
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Thanks, Mike, that’s a powerful assemblage! I knew some of the sentiments but not all of them. You’ve put them together well.
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He’s one of my favorite human beings, so it was an honor for me.
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