Chemical Elements Poems 26: Village Quarry, Baltic Isle

Village quarry,

Baltic isle.

In the form of a black rock,

fate visits.

Mother lode in

discarded slag;

another's treasure.

Chemists delight

in discovery's glow, 

punctuating

before the period.

Four elements named

for the village, 

another three

with roots in the 

same ground.

Rare earth, indeed.

Chemical Elements Poems 25: Lucky Thirteen

Lucky thirteen.

Sapphire and ruby,

foil and can,

rock and dirt.

Its decay heated

the planets.

Once deemed

suitable

for the banquets

of an emperor,

now it's used

to carry Fresca.

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I'm a couple of poems behind.  I'm coming back from vacation today, hope to catch the rest of the way back up!

Chemical Elements Poems 24: Three Isotopes, Twelve Lines

Two thirty eight has a half-life of most of a century.
It powers spacecraft distant from the Sun. 
Congress won't approve making more of the stuff, 
NASA will be up a tree when stockpile's done. 

Two thirty nine is fissile so it's been used a lot,
its history in reactors is sometimes rocky. 
It sustains chain reactions that are either fast or slow, 
to the lasting detriment of Nagasaki. 

Two forty four has been around since the world began
though the last of it will decay before long.  
It has no use in weapons, it has no use for heat.
It has no use at all, for right or wrong. 

Chemical Elements Poems 23: Heartbreaker

Shield maker, 
alpha protector.
Even kryptonite cannot
penetrate.

Time keeper,
atoms flee to you 
for stability,
shedding protons and neutrons 
to reach you

Heartbreaker,
your sweet taste 
on the walls 
tempts Maids
til they Live and Love
no more. 

Chemical Elements Poems 22: Argent Pure, Vert Exposed

Argent pure, vert exposed,

sable when burned.

Mixed in Misch.

Used to make

ersatz olivine

when you need 

to copy 

the most abundant mineral

on Earth.

Chemical Elements Poems 21: Rusty Irony

It gave its name to an age

and though humanity

has turned the page

to other materials

it still has a place.

Members of the human race

use it to fortify

foods and forts 

and signify

strong wills and artificial lungs.

But more than simply on our tongues,

though most of it is in the core

enough remains in the crust

for banded rocks in days of yore

though most now simply turns to rust.

Isn't that ironic?

Chemical Elements Poems 20: Davy Weeps

They ruled the waves and developed geology.

Their engineers tamed machines

and made them work to 

enhance the treasury.

Their explorers found Hawaii,

founded Singapore,

floundered on the Southern Continent.

Their pre-eminence coincided 

with the end of alchemy,

the triumph of science.

Was it unexpected

modesty

that left them

no place 

alongside

francium,

germanium,

scandium,

americium?