The Weight of the Soul

Dr. MacDougall measured the weight
of a human soul by placing a man
on a sensitive scale just before death
and weighing him a second time after.

Correcting for loss of gases and sweat,
MacDougall concluded the decrease
when the soul departed its bodily home
was twenty-one grams, a finding

consistent with glory–or simply
dispersion by entropy. It’s humbling
to admit having less than an ounce
of transcendence. I hope it’s enough.