A poem to honor the 10th Grade

The Science of Tears

Spring 2009, Beth White

As I peer under the microscope of life
I look closely at the
perfect droplet that
slid across cheek
onto slide.

Distracted, I smile
remembering a two-hour car ride
Meghan and Kristi
entertaining me with
music,
stories,
laughing.

I adjust the diaphragm of light and marvel at
the phenomenon of this perfect union of
Na and Cl,
much like these perfect moments of memory.

Like a few days ago,
hearing the tired voice of Amir.
A baby has graced our life
a marvelous,
wondrous miracle!

Tears of joy
containing sodium and chlorine
carefully bonded together
to form a mysterious ionic compound
then dissolved in water and spread through
time and space.

Distraction creeps in again.
Wishing I could film the moment.
Austin and Sean,
eloquent and professional,
engaged and inspired
discussing the art of the silver screen
passionately
over Cher’s gourmet strawberry parfait
on a picnic table
outside.

How proud and honored I felt to be part
of that instant… and so many other ones
such as that...

I collect myself and reposition.
Feeling glass in fingertips
I adjust the fine focus.

And I remember that I am not alone
in my pursuit for knowledge
as I hear remnants of echoes
Aaron peppering Louise
with every science question imaginable
bounce off the walls in this
disheveled lab!

I again readjust, looking closer at what
at first cannot be seen
I wonder,
where are these little
positive and negatively charged bonds
of memory?

Memories of Ariel eloquently describing the strange
and illusive spectacle we call a solar eclipse.
If she can explain that, surely she can explain this!

After all, scientists have discovered that
mixed in this brew are easy-to-identify hormones like
prolactin
adrenocorticotropic and
lucine enkephalin, a natural painkiller.

So why can
I not see
the memories of Connor and Lena courageously
rewriting the geologic history of
Vermont and New Hampshire
in syncopated, imaginative movements?

Or bits of Lexi’s excitement
and enthusiasm during the memory of his
high honors presentation
on bending iron
using fire
in this tiny droplet?

I know they must be there
for there is virtually an unlimited
amount of space for
memories such as these to take up residence.

And yet, even after searching,
I cannot yet make out
Marie
and her shy smile
and her spirited
wisdom.

Or
Maggie
and her sensitive astuteness and love
for each and every one of us
in this globe shaped fluid.

I mean really… scientifically speaking, (for you stoichiometry buffs out there)
a drop of water weights about 0.05 g
(Let’s assume for a minute that there is approximately 20 drops per milliliter.)
If the molecular weight of water is 18 (H2 o = 2*1+16).
that means the number of moles is approximately 0.05/18 =.0028 x Avogadro’s number (6.02 x 10^23), which adds up to about 10^21 number of molecules in every drop!

I am sure that Cameron
would balk at this simple-minded
deduction,
and that Sarah might want to
draw or collage what that would look like,
but I would bet you that
Autumn would just
get it perfectly and smile at my reasoning.

After all, it’s all about probability, right?
It’s all in the numbers.
That’s 10 with 23 zeros after it molecules per tear
worth of space for a simple
memory to attach to!
Right?

Salty-water attachment sites
that might have been shed when
Melissa spoke at her BFF’s roundtable.
Or perhaps they were
the ones released by Josh
as he laughed himself
into a state when he composed the pick-up lines for his giving day person.

Regardless, as saline slips across cheek
its not simply H20 and NaCl,
it’s a truly amazing ionic compound dissolved in solution!
Whose to say that those ionic bonds,
in a lattice so fine,
there is not room for a few memories.

Before I decide to quit,
and give up on this idea entirely,
Aliana and Caitlin enter my mind—and I realize that
they would want me to continue searching… that
they’d want me to follow my passions and find an answer…
… perhaps even, they’d even consider joining me
on this quest for knowledge!

For we know that inside each of these little molecules
a memory must lie. Perhaps some are positively charged
while others may be negative or neutral.
But there is no doubt that together,
they create a perfect union.

As I peer into the microscope of life,
salty water slides down cheek,
hands shaking,
I adjust my focus,
and breathe
as I fiddle with the light.

Congratulations Sophomores!  It's been an AMAZING year!