magnetism poem

Samarium, “Periodic Table of Poetry” poem by Chicago poet Janet Kuypers

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Samarium

Janet Kuypers

from the “Periodic Table of Poetry” series (#62, Sm)
(based on the poem “And I’m Wondering”)
10/1/13

I’m wondering if there’s something
chemical that brings us together,
something that brings us to our knees,
something that sucks us in…

Your stare from a distance haunts me;
I know that your look lasts longer
than the Universe itself, so, if we join,
would we stay together forever?

I’m wondering if you’re sensing what I’m
sensing, is it just me, am I making this all up
in my head, or when I glance up and catch your
eyes, do you see how you’ve taken hold of me?

I look at you and think that you’re supposed
to be the one that’s good for everyone else,
that you’re supposed go out of your way to help
everyone else, and the one thing I do know

is that you don’t break down like everyone
else seems to with me, so maybe this attraction
to you might not cause to you leave me.
Maybe you’ll absorb me in, neutron by neutron.

Because really, I’m wondering if it could work out
this time, if we’d have one of those relationships
that no one ever doubts, especially us,
because we know we’ll always be in love…

I’ve been so drawn to you, you have that effect
on me, I can’t help it. This magnetism
is undeniable, the heat you generate can actually
ignite in the air with me. Maybe that’s why

I’ve been wondering why I felt the need
to take your cigarette and inhale, exhale,
while the filter was still warm from
your lips, there just seconds before.

I’ve seen you work well with others. My loved
ones with cancer, you could even help them.
It makes me a little jealous, because I’ve been
so drawn to you that I want you for myself.

Because really, when I catch your eyes from
across the room, when I see your eyes dart away,
when I feel this chemical reaction, well,
what I’m wondering is, do you feel it too.

Gadolinium, poem from the “Periodic Table of Poetry” series by Chicago poet Janet Kuypers

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Gadolinium

Janet Kuypers

from the “Periodic Table of Poetry” series (#64, Gd)
(based on the poem “You are a Force”)
10/2/13

This attraction to you,
when I learn what you do:
are you a force of nature?

Is it your magnetism, and
how my need’s only magnified
as I draw closer to you?

That’s the only way
I can explain this,
you know.

I know this momentum
in your magnetism
chills me to the core:

but the world doesn’t know
that your magnetic refrigeration
is the energy we need…

you must have a power
no one else has harnessed,
to do this to me.

The force you have on me
makes my blood rush,
and with that blood-brain barrier,

I even look at MRI scans,
and you’re just the contrast agent
to enhance all my vessels.

In older times, the electric force
between us would even
curl me in an arc to you.

I know, I know, I must abide
by the laws of physics and motion
when it comes to you,

because, as I said,
with your dynamic equilibrium,
you must be a force of nature.

Bismuth poem by Janet Kuypers

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Bismuth

Janet Kuypers

from the “ Periodic Table of Poetry” series (#083, Bi)

I heard NASA scientists say
that Albert Einstein dismissed some of his theories.

That Einstein didn‚t like some of his theories
because he thought they weren‚t beautiful.

And it makes me wonder:
what is beauty?

Is it how the silver-pink hue of Bismuth
tarnishes into an iridescent oxide
refracting colors from soothing pink
to bright yellow
to a deep blue?

Einstein believed
“The most beautiful thing
we can experience
is the mysterious.
It is the source
of all art and science.”

And scientifically,
no other metal is more naturally
diamagnetic than Bismuth.

I know, I know, Bismuth is diamagnetic
and it‚s not the magnetism of Bismuth
that causes the Aurora Borealis
from the Earth‚s magnetic field…

But trust me,
from what I‚ve seen,
no other element
can naturally produce
such an awe-inspiring
brightly rainbow-colored
stair-step crystal.

So we ask, what is beauty?

They say that beauty
is in the eye of the beholder.
So, it makes me wonder.