Learning when I was little
that atoms were the littlest

things that
could be

the sun amazed me
(book falling disbelievingly to the floor)

when it
poked its head in the tiny thin slit in

the heavy velvet
red theatrical curtain

setting the air
dancing with dust

but to my eye
it could only be

atoms
come alive

for me
as I

walked among
atoms

walking with atoms.

Only later
my little knowledge

turning back
into dust.

Dónall Dempsey

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/walking-with-atoms-for-bryan/