For the 2019 Poetry Challenge, participants were given three options: write about Chemistry (recognizing the 150th anniversary of Dmitri Mendeleev’s Periodic Table of Elements), L. Frank Baum’s Land of Oz (recognizing the 100th anniversary of his death and the 80th anniversary of the MGM film The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland), or write a Tricube poem, a form created by Philip Larrea. The Tricube consists of three verses of three lines each containing only three syllables.
Poems were selected by our guest judges. British poet Laura Potts judged all the poems about chemistry. Texas poet Sylvia Riojas Vaughn made the selections for the poems about the Land of Oz. Past Virginia Poet Laureate Sofia Starnes chose the Tricube poems. We thank all of the poets who shared their writing with us. We thank the many teachers who encouraged their students to participate. We thank our guest judges for their time, energy and enthusiasm for the project.
Enjoy!
Sincerely,
Jennifer Dotson
Founder & Coordinator
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| Jennifer Dotson, Photographer |
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Lexi Peterson
– 1st Place, 5th Grade Student
Horses
Click clop clop
On the trail
Break a stick
Scare a quail
Slip on mud
Jump a log
Run, trot, stop
All year long
Clop click clop
| Jacob Kaiserman
– 1st Place, 4th Grade Student
Karate
Downward block
Fist block down
Feet apart
Rising block
Blocking up
Fist on hip
Knife hand block
Hands open
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Carol Spielman Lezak
– 1st Place, Highland Park Resident
Bird Watch
The empty
pond shimmers
in the sun,
still and smooth,
until the
surface breaks
when a sleek
heron dives
in to eat.
| Bill Lederer
– 1st Place, Adult Non-Resident
The Technique
Who taught her
to be like
a goddess?
Her design
is as strong
as it gives.
Her web traps
others in
its wonder.
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| Amy Perlmutter, Photographer |
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Carol L. Gloor
– 2nd Place, Adult Non-Resident
Apple River Canyon
We bring our
bones to this
golden stream,
shed shoes that
smell Winter,
navigate
together,
hold old hands,
cross to Spring.
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Elliot Starkman
– 2nd Place, Highland Park Resident & High School Student
Paradise
I ran from
Home to find
Paradise
But turned back
Since I left
My sunscreen
And sunburns
Hurt worse when
You're alone.
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Max Pass
- 2nd Place, 4th Grade Student
Snowman
My snowman
Someone nice
Cold as ice
While he stood
I observe
Him standing
Dawn to dusk
Standing tall
Watching all
| Sammi Hoffberg
– 2nd Place, 5th Grade Student
YouTube
Ads are dumb
Copyright
Clickbaits trash
Gamers game
Vloggers vlog
Pranksters prank
Don’t forget
Two thumbs up
And subscribe!
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| "Rain in Gold," by Mary Seyfarth |
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Noah Carson
– 3rd Place, 5th Grade Student
Earth
Earth will die
I won’t lie
Please help it
Or I’ll cry
Don’t spread hate
Earth is great
Don’t throw trash,
Or you'll turn
Into ash
| Drake Elman
- 3rd Place, 4th Grade Student
I See the Woods
I see a
Waterfall
In the woods
I see trees
By the rock
Listening
To the calm
Waterfall
Peace at last
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Marjorie Rissman
– 3rd Place, Highland Park Resident
New Year Dream
Christmas tree
bright with lights
warms the night.
Too soon gone
to curbside
pick up truck.
Chopped to chips
ground to mulch
waits for spring.
| Wilda Morris
– 3rd Place, Adult Non-Resident
In San Miguel de Allende, 2007
In an old
Mexican
bar I gape
at bull heads
and branding
irons and
sympathize
with Francis,
statued saint
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| R. James Paradiso Photographer |
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Jan Chronister
– Honorable Mention, Adult Non-Resident
All That Remains
abandoned
stalks of corn
forgotten
ragged men
with their backs
to the wind
burnished oaks
drained of wine
wait for spring
| Kathleen A. Lawrence
– Honorable Mention, Adult Non-Resident
What to Do?
Three minutes
isn’t long
to express
my cold fears
and boiling
hot desires.
Just enough
time for my
to do list.
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Emma Alexandra
– Honorable Mention, Highland Park Resident
Nature’s Dance
Chickadee’s
sixteen calls
repertoire
signals love,
bird feeders filled,
hawk sightings,
quick flights
nature’s dance,
its wisdom.
| Merle Tovian
– Honorable Mention, Highland Park Resident
Sheltering
Sky-blue hut
pine smelling
stalks rustling
Leaves of oak,
red maple,
green cedar
Harvesting
the year and
my prayers.
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| Barbara Thurlow, Photographer |
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Addison Dickman
– Honorable Mention, 5th Grade Student
Hoover
He is soft.
And playful.
Woof! Woof! Woof!
I love him.
He cuddles.
Woof! Woof! Woof!
Little dog.
Big people.
Woof! Woof! Woof!
| Shayna Itkin
– Honorable Mention, 5th Grade Student
Cake is Great
I like cake
Cake is great
But it gives
Stomachaches
I like cake
It is sweet
It is like
A cakey
Candy treat
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Eden Bernardi
– Honorable Mention, 4th Grade Student
A Girl’s Game
Basketball
A girl’s game
Bringing change
Feel the sweat
Beat the rest
Be the best
Three point shots
When your hot
Swish, jumpshot!
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| Jennifer Edelman, Photographer |
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Sadie Weissman
- Honorable Mention, 4th Grade Student
Animals
Chimpanzees
Are very
Curious
Tigers are
Very brave
And so fast
But humans
Are the best
Don’t ya think?
| Valentina Di Martino
– Honorable Mention, 4th Grade Student
Strange Animals
Pandas that
Eat pizza
Are awesome
Tigers that
Ride surfboards
Are so cool
Penguins that
Run real weird
Are crazy
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| L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz |
Candace Kubinec
– 1st Place, Adult Non-Resident
After the Fall
The yellow brick road is
Full of weeds and
No one believes in the
Wonderful Wizard or
His magic any longer
Glinda the Good and the
Wicked Witch have
Opened a coffee bar
In downtown Oz –
No water is served
Dorothy has abandoned
Her ruby slippers and
Founded a rescue farm
For homeless Flying Monkeys
Only Toto remembers
The way home.
| Megan Kim
– 1st Place, 5th Grade Student
Oz
L. Frank Baum,
Creator of The Wizard of Oz
First, an introduction of the four friends
Whose journey is amazing beginning to end
Dorothy with her shoes so bright
The scarecrow with no brains try as he might
A Tin Man in need of a heart for his chest
A Lion longing for courage at its best
Their journey I know tells an elaborate story
No wonder the author is known with such glory
But how did he come up with such a concept
Maybe it started up in his office
His shelves were labeled, yes, indeed
From A to N
From O to Z
Then he decided
Oh, what a name!
Oz was perfect!
He thought in his brain
Maybe it started, beginning like that
But we’ll never know
And the reason is sad
L. Frank Baum
creator of The Wizard of Oz
Died a hundred years ago
But his magical story
Will forever be told
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Marjorie Rissman
– 1st Place, Highland Park Resident
The Magic of Red Shoes
not the lion, the scarecrow, the tin man
although they were magical enough,
it was all about the shoes, the glittery
ruby slippers that Dorothy wore day after day,
night after night, when she went to Oz and when
she came home and saw Auntie Em again.
they were pure magic, from the tip of the toes
to the back of the heels, from the red outside
to the black sole and innersole. they walked
on the yellow brick road and beyond taking
this girl and her beloved puppy in the basket,
from her bed to see the wizard and home again,
once she learned that there is no other place
to want to be, because home is where love is
always waiting. So click your heels and say it loud
and clear and you too will walk in the red shoes
of Dorothy and visit the lion, the scarecrow, the
tin man, the Munchkins, the Good Witch,the
Bad Witch, and the Wizard but learn to come
back where it all began in the house that you
call home, in the bed where you grew up, where
hopefully you learned how to love and be loved.
remember that oz means courage in Hebrew,
a word you must take with you wherever you go.
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| Bev Sykes, Photographer |
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Maddie Stevens
– 1st Place, 4th Grade Student
The Yellow Brick Road
The long stretch to get home,
A twisty, windy, curvy place,
A road that can lead to danger,
A forest frightening and scary.
This road is trick, so shiny too.
That red ruby slippers can dance down it
There you might find happiness and meet friends along the way,
It could lead you to a city,
So emerald and green,
The yellow brick road can’t predict,
What's in store for you.
There might be a wicked witch,
So, get ready for the adventure,
Because this amazing road awaits...
...The Yellow Brick Road
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| W. W. Denslow, Illustrator |
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Abby Taub
– 2nd Place, 5th Grade Student
Oz
Over one hundred years of Oz,
The wonderful wizard of Oz.
First there is Dorothy,
Dorothy and her shoes.
Then there is the Scarecrow,
Looking for a brain.
Next up is the Tin Man,
Searching for a heart.
Finally the Lion,
Longing to be brave.
L. Frank Baum,
The creator of the magic,
He died 100 years ago.
But we will still remember,
The magic that he brought.
| Marin Killeen
– 2nd Place, 4h Grade Student
Skipping Down the Yellow Brick Road
The yellow brick road, the yellow brick road, what a wonderful place to be. There I stand with glee, skipping down the yellow brick road I go. In my red ruby slippers with all my friends, we all skip together to the end. Click click click I dance down the yellow brick road with me in my slippers, and all of my wonderful friends.
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| Gert Knop, Artist |
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Ed Werstein
– 2nd Place, Adult Non-Resident
Nick Chopper Lays Down His Axe
The Tin Woodman, originally an ordinary man, Nick Chopper (the name first appeared in The Marvelous Land of Oz, by L. Frank Baum), used to make his living chopping down trees in the forests of Oz.
for Sylvia
I never saw the woods like this before
every tree sacred
the forest a cathedral.
Yesterday I spied her
a sprite, a spirited sylph
dancing in a clearing
around the altar
of a felled trunk.
I was blinded
like Paul on the Damascus Road
forever altered
forever her disciple.
And when my vision cleared
I gazed into the polished metal
of my axe and saw myself
real and true for the first time
a hollow man
heartless
as a money changer
in this wooded temple.
I am the Tin Man
whose tears of remorse
now rust my hinged joints.
I stand here motionless
empty
praying for holy oil
from the sylvan goddess
to liberate my dance of joy.
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| Jack Haley as The Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz (MGM, 1939) |
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Emma Alexandra
– 2nd Place, Highland Park Resident
Dmitry Antonovich Mendeleev and Lyman Frank Baum Converge Over the Rainbow
And so, Mr. Baum, how extraordinary that we
should converge here, here over this, this
rainbow, rainbow the colors of our universe.
The atomic magnitude of this transport overwhelms me.
As it does me, Mr. Mendeleev, does me indeed... Elemental
in its composition, yet, monumental in its mystery, bit
magical I'd say. And, do call me Frank by the way. We,
Americans prefer the informality of first names.
With pleasure Frank. Dmitry, will do as well. You can skip
my patronymic, though Antonovich honors my father, Anton.
Temporary situation and location call for simplicity,
simplicity down to its lowest number in my periodic table.
Absolutely Dmitry, as simple as the air, the oxygen, we breathe.
We fly through time, as light as hydrogen filled dirigibles.
In our mid-thirties when we each achieved stardom in our own way.
You, with your Periodic Table of Chemical Elements.
I was 3 years old in 1869 when you, after hours, sleepless
nights, exhausted, dreaming, placed, and replaced,
your meticulously marked cards of chemical elements, your
game of solitaire, suits for horizontal, numbers for vertical.
Frank, with your book, The Wonderful World of Oz,in 1900,
you touched a chord. I was 66 years old then.
Could I create a chemical language as simple as the air,
the oxygen we breathe, understandable to a child of any age.
I thought to myself as I wrote children's books, could I teach
something as difficult as chemistry. Could I convert
your table, Dmitry, to a dance, a rhythmic affirmation of knowledge,
elemental in composition, monumental in mystery.
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Ellen Pickus
– 3rd Place, Adult Non-Resident
Scarecrow
You’ve drawn my mouth tight shut.
Who wants to hear what you have to say?
You haven’t got a brain in your head.
You’ve forced my arms onto a crucifix
offering no salvation,
frozen to scare others off,
to embrace no one.
And I can never leave your yard
to explore or learn
or meet any wizards,
true or false,
with my head stuck
in one direction
in a field of bitter green corn,
facing only one view—
the one you chose for me.
| Kerry Leaf
– 3rd Place, Highland Park Resident
Curtains
Behind Tara’s curtains
Stood manufactured glamor,
A living figure
Bedecked in handmade dress.
Behind the Iron Curtain
Stood countries divided,
A barrier
Built of ideological idiocies.
Behind the curtain of Oz
Stood hidden desires and hopes
That a wizard
Could whip the world into shape.
Behind all curtains of fear
Stand numbed scarecrows and lions and tin men
Yearning for a Dorothy
To show them the way.
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| John Rea Neill, Illustrator |
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Sofia Fernandez
– 3rd Place, 5th Grade Student
Oz
100+ years of Oz
4 characters in a story
Dorothy a world
away from home
Scarecrow looking for
A brain
The lion’s courage that
knows its bounds
The Tin Man’s heart that
was never there
100+ years of Oz
4 characters in
a story that will
be told forever
| Emmett Heaton
– 3rd Place, 4th Grade Student
The Wizard of Oz
The man that needs the heart
Maybe the tin covered soulless machine
Lost his heart
Maybe he did not love
That was why he was not given a chance to have a heart
Maybe this cold heartless alien gave his heart to someone else
Who knows why the tin covered phenomenon
Doesn’t have a heart.
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Evan Peal
– Honorable Mention, 4th Grade Student
The Wizard of Oz
Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!
Run for your life and try not to cry!
Look at those monkeys fly!
We’re off to see the Wizard
the wonderful Wizard of Oz
Come along and sing along
and walk the yellow brick road.
We’re off to see the Wizard,
the wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The Cowardly Lion, Dorothy and
Tin Man, and don’t forget about Scarecrow,
were all on their way to see the Wiz
to talk about their biz.
Until that wicked old witch tried to cast her spells on
the Lion, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Dorothy.
Then the witch was on her broom and came
to her Doom when the house fell on her head!
Ding Dong the witch is dead!
All the munchkins in the Land of Oz began to sing, sing a song in joy.
The Lion could search for his nerve, the Scarecrow could search for his brain,
the Tin Man may search for his heart and Dorothy how to go back home to Kansas.
We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz,
because because because because because the wonderful Wizard of Oz he was.
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Elliot Shields
– Honorable Mention, 5th Grade Student
The Tinman
Oil, Oil everywhere
with his silver shine and his sunny glare.
He has no heart, he has no hair,
But deep inside, the kindness is there.
With his bolts and his screws, he has some issues,
He meets three friends on the way that help him out in every way.
| Ben Brekher
– Honorable Mention, 5th Grade Student
Wizard of Oz
A tornado caused me to land
on a witch’s body,
met a tinman with no heart,
a scarecrow with no brain,
and a lion with no courage.
I gave a lion courage,
a robot a heart,
and taught a crow to think.
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| Gert Knop, Artist |
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Connie Vitale
– Honorable Mention, Highland Park Resident
The Good Witch
He used to call me Glinda
In the days of yore,
And Glinda was a good witch
If you give credence to the lore.
Her feet n’ere touched the ground,
She floated in a bubble.
In doing good she found delight.
Knew he not he was in trouble?
Sugar and spice and everything nice -
Wait … Kali is her middle name?!?
Oh how different it would be
If he only had a brain
Expecting patience and noblesse
Put the horse before the cart.
Oh how different it would be
If he only had a heart.
Tarnished halos weigh so heavy,
Being good a joyless scourge.
Oh how different it would be
If he only had some courage.
He used to call me Glinda
And my eye would start to twitch.
I tumbled from my pedestal
And now he calls me Witch.
| Joseph Kuhn Carey
– Honorable Mention, Adult Non-Resident
Ruby Reds
Those ruby slippers
have lived on in memory
because they can take you home
from colorful Oz to
a bleak black & white Kansas farm
or anywhere else you want to go
and isn’t that where you’d choose
to go if you could
back to where warm meals are waiting
and the people and things you love in
present or past are stored, each
a touchstone in the deep well of family consciousness
that’s molded you into the person you’ve become,
just three clicks and you’re back
from wild and woolly adventures in the world
at large, and the twister’s over and
plenty of familiar faces are crowding ‘round,
welcoming you with open arms, smiles and love,
but the slippers will always be there,
up on a dusty closet shelf,
calling out to you to come back to Oz and
the glorious green Emerald City someday,
with all of that radiant, beautiful, shiny,
sparkling possibility and power packed in
those little old ruby reds.
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Julie Isaacson
– Honorable Mention, Highland Park Resident
Lollipop Guild Builders
Give Us Your Trust, We’ll Get On The Stick
Seventy-Five Years Experience
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Originators of Yellow Brick, High Gloss or Matte Finish
Our Masons Offer Brains, Heart and Courage
In all Hardscapes and Commissions
In a Rush? We can drop in Fast
By Balloon or Flying Monkey Drones
It Doesn’t Take a Wizard to Know Where to Call
Our Designs Will Make you Feel Like Dancing
Read the Reviews, or call 1-800-EMERALD for References
****
I was at my wit’s end with previous contractors.
----Scarecrow
Their brick is strong enough to keep its shine under my heavy metal.
---- Tin Man
I’m not lyin’ when I say this is the bravest walk I ever took.
---- Lion
I’d kill for a path like that.
----W.W.of W.
Their work was like magic! It was as though I waved a wand,and it was done!
---Glinda
This beautiful path makes me feel every day that
There’s No Place Like Home.
----Dorothy
What’s Yellow?
----Toto
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| John Rea Neill, Illustrator |
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Maddie Kashy
– Honorable Mention, 5th Grade Student
Oz
Following a path,
We end up here just like that.
We see a scarecrow with a nice hat.
He talks, he walks, But no brain.
We see a big lion, furry my bravery he needs.
He asked can “I walk with you please.”
We said yes he liked my blue dress.
We see a tin man, Frozen and stuck.
We give him a oil to unstuck him.
We walk, and walk till we see a door,
It’s green. It scared me. I screamed.
Woah a castle, boom a witch my shoes she says.
We ran and ran, Boom bam.
| Sophie Seligman
– Honorable Mention, Highland Park Resident & High School Student
Lessons of the Emerald City
Life is spinning,
Like I’m in a hurricane.
Do I need courage,
A heart,
Or brains?
So many questions,
That life may bring,
And decisions to make,
With every little thing.
But if you follow the bricks,
That glow a bright gold,
You may be able to conquer
The great unknown.
What's out there?
Lions, tigers, bears?
Oh my!
Or is it just like the sweet stories,
From my lullabies.
Will I reach Oz?
And when will I learn,
That I am the one who knows my future,
And the knowledge for which I yearn.
Not the man behind the curtain,
In some faraway land.
But me, a young girl,
With her heart in her hands.
Courage in her soul,
And a brain in her head,
I am the only one to attain my goals,
And take on the world ahead.
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Sylvia Cavanaugh
– Honorable Mention, Adult Non-Resident
Glinda Establishes the North Star Settlement House
It was the epiphany that flooded my brain as I spoke
to Dorothy about home. The realization that home
can be here, there, anywhere. Samwise carried
the Shire all the way to the flanks of Mount Doom.
Indeed, I studied abroad in Middle Earth my junior
year. I spent most of my time in Rivendell as the last
of the Elves prepared for their journey to the sea.
I realized early on I was in over my head, culturally,
but joined in singing ancient songs to the stars as
they rose in the night sky. Elrond praised my voice,
pure as starlight, and called me North Star.
I kept track of Dorothy after I sent her on her journey
down the yellow brick road. In my mind’s eye, I saw
the gatekeeper of the Emerald City weep, then allow
the desperate travelers to pass through his tall gates.
Yes, this would be my city. When Dorothy left
I donned sea-green leggings and took the jade elf
cloak with silver star clasp from the old trunk in
the attic. The only glitter I wear is on my fingernails,
but the children love it, so I keep this one vanity.
The North Star welcomes the weary, the refugee,
the traveler from other lands, and speakers of foreign
tongues, like Munchkin, Monkey, and Elvish.
I’ve met the Winged Monkey King, hunkered down
In the forest, and our discussions show promise.
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Max Tarschis
– Honorable Mention, 4th Grade Student
The Merry Old Land of Oz
Dorothy sat there poorly, in Black, White, and Gray.
But when things got all happy, this is all she could say.
Follow the yellow brick road! Follow the yellow brick road!
Out of the munchkins mouths’ good songs flowed.
Along her journey she found lots of friends.
Along with some enemies that wanted to bring them all to their ends.
Lions, Tigers, Bears! Oh my!
Monkeys soaring through the sky!
Oh no! There is a witch!
My eyes are starting to twitch!
Ding Dong the witch is Dead!
By dumping water on her head!
| Jael Nikiema
– Honorable Mention, 4th Grade Student
the yellow brick road
walking down the yellow brick road
I saw the grass looking like it was mowed
the yellow brick road was shining
like the sun light towards Oz.
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Kathleen A. Lawrence
– Honorable Mention, Adult Non-Resident
Dorothy Delivered
(spiraling abecedarian)
Auntie Em
anxiously bellowed,
before the blowing, cartwheeling
country cyclone dumped Dorothy and her
dog efficiently.
Embarking far,
flying Gale with a gust
grounded on a half-hidden hag.
House now immobilized, an
iridescent image in jeweled globe joined the
jolly juveniles. Kansas
knew little of lilting ladies,
lollipop guilds, merry munchkins, and
menacing monkeys. Nevertheless, Glinda of the
North offered her an
offbeat option: Oz. Picking up pals,
powering through poppies, the quirky quartet
queued for their quest. Rallying, Dorothy
ran in ruby slippers with
Scarecrow, Scaredycat, Tinmman and Toto too,
trekking to urban Oz.
Unctuous Wiz in verdigris
vowed to value the Wicked Witch of the
West's broom. Water extinguished her
exploits. Yea-sayers yelled “to the
yellow brick road.” Zonked gal
zoomed home.
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| Gert Knop, Artist |
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Eden Gunsberg
– Honorable Mention, 4th Grade Student
The Wicked Witch Watching Me
I stand in my shadow,
wondering, thinking.
It feels like the witch is looking at me over my shoulder,
watching every move I make, every step I take.
I take a step forward, the witch follows me.
I take a step backward, the witch follows me.
“Go away!” I scream, but she just won’t go.
The witch is the cold winter storm
that no one ever looks forward to.
The witch is the screeching of the nails
when they scratch the chalkboard.
With the witch, I feel upset and lonely.
But you must not think about this witch.
You must always look
at the greener and sunnier side of the field;
the bright side.
You must think about all the colorful and beautiful creatures.
You must think wisely, courageously and most of all brightly.
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| Dorothy's ruby slippers (MGM, 1939) |
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Grace Tipescu
– Honorable Mention, 5th Grade Student
Oz
We are off to see the wizard the wonderful wizard of Oz!
Dorothy with her red sparkly shoes woke up in a world called Oz.
Home
Scarecrow is longing for a brain, that will bring pride to his name.
Brain
Tin Man is wishing for a dove to bring him a heart to love.
Heart
The Cowardly Lion wishing for the courage to make all animals bow down at the sight of him.
Courage
We thank the man that gave us Oz, the wonderful wizard of Oz!
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Kerry Ann Leaf
– 1st Place, Highland Park Resident
Baked In
When the weighted
Measure of
Sifted
Unbleached flour
And baking powder
And dark brown sugar
And sea salt
And Dutch cocoa
Play with
Beaten eggs
And milk
And luscious liquids
And live together
For an hour or so
In the warmth
Of their panned shelters,
The chemical magic outcome
Is awesome.
| Gail Denham
– 1st Place, Adult Non-Resident
Enough Chemistry
Aggie and Ralph date off and on
for three years. “There’s good chemistry
a’ tween you,” says Ma. “Whyn’t you make
it permanent? Ralph’s a good steady fella.”
“Chemistry, ha!,” Aggie pouts. “More like
spontaneous combustion. Any little thing
makes him explode. Last night it was cuz
I ordered chicken instead of steak.”
“Come on,” Ralph groans. “Brought
you to this fancy restaurant and you order
chicken. You don’t appreciate
what I do for you. Steak is their specialty.”
Aggie giggles. “So I chewed real slow.
Every bite I either smacked my lips
or lifted the fork high so’s he’d notice.
He was so irritated he gobbled
his steak. Thought maybe he’d choke.”
“He didn’t even kiss me good night,
he was so put out. Drove off fast.
Only a drop of acid and he’ll blow
off his lid. He’s a formula for disaster.”
“Other day he grumbled for five minutes
cuz I went out ahead of him, didn’t let him
open the door. And he doesn’t like cats.”
“Time I moved on to someone
who at least has some of the same
elements I do. Doncha’ think, Ma?”
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Ella Engelman
– 1st Place, Elementary Student
The Experiment
I mix and mix all day and night
Trying to get my potion just right.
“I am mad, I am evil,” I told myself,
I took my recipe off the shelf.
I looked at the list then took a big gasp.
I ran to get my oxygen mask.
I told myself, “Any minute now.”
Suddenly I heard a big POW!
I screamed as the mixture flew over my head,
I thought I was about to be dead.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath
Wishing to escape my death.
Minutes later I opened my eyes.
I looked around with total surprise.
I was living, I was breathing,
I wasn’t even bleeding.
I realized the potion made a hole in my wall,
But I really didn’t care at all.
I ran out of the lab,
I would never return.
No more chemistry, that’s a good thing to learn.
| Kate Hutchinson
– 2nd Place, Adult Non- Resident
Ode to Argon
Argon is an unusual element, rarely reacting with other elements to form compounds.
O argon of no intention! You were
born of cosmic rays to hover forever
like tiny pods near the mother ship.
O argon of the Tyrannosaur,
swimming in pillow-sized lungs
and exhaled into ancient atmospheres
to circulate all these million years!
Argonauts inhaled you back in Greece
and somehow claimed your name—
lazy, inactive—dubbed because you don't
mix it up with the other atoms. You're
singular, stand-offish— but complete.
To think! The same argon atoms I breathe
blew here from the ancients—Homer
and Aristophanes with a puff expelling
Priam's pain and Lysistrata's decree.
Attila the Hun inhaled you! And Joan
before she was of Arc, out gathering eggs,
and Will in his dusty office at the Globe
penning orisons for kings, and Whitman
yawping you into never-ending songs.
O argon, atomic acrobat—so deftly
snuffing out fires or stifling the lives
of ten thousand fowl a day for Purdue,
preserving our Constitution under
inch-thick glass, and cutting into flesh
in our surgeons' blue-green laser beams.
O Element 18, ten percent of this air!
You will ricochet among the roaches
when there are no more human lungs to fill.
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| Jennifer Dotson, Photographer |
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Julie Isaacson
– 2nd Place, Highland Park Resident
The Arc of Chemistry
Chemistry. Vague measure of the subjective, variant depth
of a relationship.
The spark, the glue, the joy, the magnetic pull.
“Yes, there’s all that questionable behavior, but we have CHEMISTRY.”
And others nod knowingly, as if to say, “Ah, yes! The chemistry which forgives all else.”
Like cholesterol, there’s good and bad chemistry.
When it’s good, it’s like H2O. Refreshing, vital, necessary to one’s existence.
Provides
strength and sustenance.
If the chemistry is really good, the relationship is ignited with calcium chloride
and
potassium nitrate. FIREWORKS!
But alas, these compounds are not sustainable! Way too much maintenance.
The acids and bases must combine just right—all such a delicate balance.
Possibly
resulting in Neutral. Or worse...Hydrogen Fluoride. Don’t be fooled by the old trick
of salt combined with mercury thiocynate. It might be a lure for phosphine.
Chemistry—be careful, or one can get burned on the road from lust to combust.
And if the ex(periment) is spotted out on the street, one can say, “Eh..that one didn’t
know a mass from a mole in the ground.”
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Reese Crosby
– 2nd Place, Elementary Student
Big Explosion!
I had a great idea
For a special potion
I hope that nothing gets broken
I pour in some bamI pour in some boom
I can’t wait until it explodes all over the room!
I paint it brownI paint it black
I make sure I paint the back
I put a little of this…
I put a little of that…
5
4
3
2
1
With a boom!
A bam!
A pow!
A shazam!
My volcano exploded
With a big loud WHAM!
| Emmie Dubin
– 3rd Place, Elementary Student
Chemistry
Look around the lab for this and that.
Bags of toenails and cartons of scat.
Toxic, keep out, don't let that explode!
Eww! I found the head of a toad.
Watch out for that shelf!
Don't touch the monster fur.
Concoctions of things never seen before.
Hazardous boxes full of mystery things.
Crates filled to the brim with snake skins!
EEEKKK!! I let out a big scream.
I woke up, it was just a dream.
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| Alexander Calder, Artist |
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Olivia Maciel Edelman
– 3rd Place, Highland Park Resident
Cavilaciones de una pasajera
- Para Metra
(Sistema de ferrocarril de usuarios en el área de Chicago)
Viajeros de Metra, su atención por favor,
el próximo tren entrante llegará a la estación
en aproximadamente… cinco minutos
(Estación de Highland Park, Illinois)
Siemens y Alstom generarían dieciocho billones de dólares
con su fusión.
Crispr / Cas9 es una prometedora técnica molecular
para editar el código genético.
Alguien cultiva bacterias sobre alambres metálicos
para agilizar el proceso fotosintético.
En Israel se ha descubierto un nuevo mineral azul,
tan precioso como el zafiro;
se le ha llamado ¨carmelito¨
por haberse hallado en el área de Carmel.
¿Y qué del brillante descubrimiento
sobre el funcionamiento neuronal de Dn. José Ramón y Cajal?
¿Y qué de Babbage y de Ada Lovelace?
¿Y qué de la magnífica
Tabla Periódica de Dmitri Mendeleiév?
Enroscados, encerados,
los oscuros y helados desfiladeros de la noche
amenazan con tragarse a la tierra y sus océanos.
¿De qué nos servirá la ciencia
si olvidamos el ala beligerante y alumbrada del filosófo,
el ojo anímico del profeta,
la tierna y calenturienta caricia de la abuela en el hospicio?
Viajeros de Metra, su atención por favor,
el próximo tren saliente saldrá de la estación
en aproximadamente… cinco minutos
(Estación de Ogilvie, Chicago, Illinois).
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Olivia Maciel Edelman – 3rd Place, Highland Park Resident
Ruminations of a Passenger
- For Metra
(Urban railroad system in the Chicago area for commuters)
Metra commuters, your attention please,
the next inbound train will arrive into the station
in approximately… five minutes
(Train station, Highland Park, Illinois)
Siemens and Alstom would generate eighteen BN dollars
with their merger.
Crispr / Cas9 is a promising molecular technique
to edit the genetic code.
Someone cultivates bacteria on metallic wires
to make photosynthesis more agile.
In Israel a new blue mineral has been discovered,
as precious as sapphire,
called “carmelite”, as it has been found in the area of Carmel.
And what about the brilliant discovery
by Dn. José Ramón y Cajal of the functioning of neurons?
And what about Babbage and Ada Lovelace?
And what about the magnificent
Periodic Table by Dmitry Mendeleev?
Curled upon themselves, waxed,
the darkened and frozen gorges of the night
threaten to swallow earth and its oceans.
Of what use will science be
if we forget the belligerent and illuminated
wing of the philosopher,
the anemic eye of the prophet,
the tender and feverish caress of grandmother in the hospice?
Metra commuters, your attention please,
the next outbound train will depart the station
in approximately… five minutes
(Ogilvie Station, Chicago, Illinois).
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| Emilio Bandiero, Photographer |
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Ed Werstein
– 3rd Place, Adult Non-Resident
Helium
Your parents were a couple of hot heads
blew up at the drop of a match
that nasty Hindenberg incident
the most famous of the many times
they lost control.
But they found their matchmaker
in the sun god, your namesake.
When hydrogen atoms get close
and start feeling good about each other
things heat up in a hurry.
The hotter it gets, the closer they get.
They fuck, they fuse,
and are destroyed by their own passion.
Passing on all of their parts and none
of their traits, they become something
completely different: you.
You lead a long lineage of nobility,
a calm inertia is your greatest asset.
You are uplifting, rising
to every occasion,
great fun at parties.
People lift their voices
and speak very highly
of you.
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| Gail Denham, Photographer |
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Marjorie Rissman
– Honorable Mention, Highland Park Resident
101Md=Dmitry Mendeleev
no Nobel Prize for him
no vodka named after him
but element 101 and
a crater on the far side
of the dark moon
bear his name
a foreign member
of the Royal Society,
a bigamist banned from
Russian Academy of Science,
a dreamer who became
Father of the Periodic Table,
introduced the metric system to Russia,
a founder of the first oil refinery there,
teacher, author, chemist, scientist,
but unable to play the game,
the politics of the Nobel Prize
three times refused to honor him
who else claimed to dream their greatest
accomplishment, to write it down next
morning and find only one mistake in his
head or memory; all we know today is
the Table is the achievement of a genius,
leaving room for new elements to come.
| Khalid Mukhtar
– Honorable Mention, Adult Non-Resident
Sn
I can’t stand
these heartless
men of tin
lying ‘round
waiting for
tornado-
borne lasses
To save their...
Can’t Stannum.
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Vladimir Kovalev
– Honorable Mention, Elementary Student
The Periodic Table
Take hydrogen, carbon and some oxygen,
You get the thing you use every day,
Which is soap.
Now let’s mix,
Carbon,
Chromium,
Nickel,
Molybdenum,
Manganese,
Silicon and copper,
Introgen and niobium.
Then go find the steel that has no stain,
Never damaged by the rain,
And that is the stainless steel.
Now let’s mix some more.
Carbon,
Hydrogen,
Oxygen,
Nitrogen,
Chlorine,
And sulfur.
Go get a plastic bag and that is what it makes!
Originally published in Lyrics of Our Lives, 2003
| Alessandra De Hayes
– Honorable Mention, Elementary Student
So Many Elements!
Aluminum is all I can remember,
Since I learned the Periodic Table last December,
I've been stuck trying to figure out,
What atoms are all about.
Well just now, I learned about Rhuenium,
But I can't keep track of Selenium,
After I learned all the elements in the Periodic Table,
I'm starting to feel a little unstable!
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Wilda Morris
– Honorable Mention, Adult Non-Resident
Paris, April 8, 1794
In memory of Antoine Lavoisier
Blood spattered
the base
of the guillotine–
A head,
respiration stopped,
brain severed
from the hand
which recorded
ideas linking
his own experiments
with those of others,
building the basics
of modern chemistry,
wrote words urging reform
of prisons and hospitals,
handed out
his own funds
to feed people
in famine and poverty,
wrote against pied forchu
tax against Jews,
proposed fire hydrants,
schools for peasants,
better street lights.
Someone’s head
should roll
for this base travesty.
First published in The Iconoclast, 91 (2006), p. 32.
| Everett Ciokajlo
– Honorable Mention, Elementary Student
Batrachotoxin
The scientist pulls in his driveway with his rickety car.
He lives away from the city, very far
He mixes two dangerous chemicals and does not know what it
will make.
He thinks they might just disintegrate and bake.
He is wrong, very wrong and he makes batrachotoxin.
The test tube explodes and he is boxed in,
He cannot get out,
He fusses and pouts.
EVERYTHING EXPLODES!
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2009 Fall
Muses' Gallery Archive
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