Sciences with Essences by Russell Fernando
Project Manager, De La Salle College, Malvern Victoria

Endless streams of galaxies ought to bounce.
Do distant stars shine like some cosmic ounce
where exo-planets echo, gather, mount,
appearing too many times for us to count?

To know them all, while yet too many to learn,
we search for ones with Earth-likeness to earn.
They say we’re bound to want and wonder more,
explore where no man’s ever been before.

Are perfect life-forms living here unknown,
clueless to how outnumbered they have grown?
Should bright-lit future-dreams be what we chase,
as though we’re blind to see our Earth’s embrace?

During our quest for progress and control,
we’re failing Earth, our mother, home and soul.
It seems our climate’s harmony is lost.
Our actions now impose a perilous cost.

Let’s ponder stars, and contemplate our ways,
to calculate, redeem, ahead of days.
In seeking truth, may mankind also find
a path to heal, to mend and to be kind. 

Fight Microbes for Health  by Harsheen Kaur
Masters Student in Agriculture and Food Science at the University of Tasmania

Here’s some helpful hints we all should know
starting from our head down to each toe:

Soapy water washes bacteria away.
We recommend you try it every day!

Likewise, brushing teeth at least once daily
keeps our gums and breath more sweet than smelly.

Washing hands before we touch a meal
can block infections.  Such a happy deal!

Cleanliness and hygiene are the key.
This can make us feel so very lucky!

Wash raw fruits and veg appropriately.
The naked eye can’t see those microbes properly.

Handle food and cook as recommended
to keep your insides safe and unoffended.

Don’t let harmful bugs become a tyranny.
Our body’s health should surely take priority.

 

 

The Surging Tide by Jacinta Lou 

In the sea live many ghosts
of pirates, convicts and more.
Lost sunken treasure.
The remnants of war.

In my yard are fossils
where the sea used to be,
billions of years ago
before there was me.

The sea is claiming back the land.
On islands, it’s a disaster.
The billion year shift of tides
is coming. It’s coming even faster.

It’s speeding up as the globe heats up.
Is that about how we live?
To slow it down do we need to change
how we live, what we take, what we give?

Give back to the sea by keeping it clean
of plastics, oil and junk.
Keep the land cool by reusing more
or one day the land will be sunk.

The tide is turning.

 

Ultra-black Fish  by Sukarma Rani Thareja
(Associate Professor Retired, CSJM Kanpur University, India)

Ultra-black fish, Ultra-black fish
hide in plain sight in the deepest sea.
So how does it work, this trickery,
their magic invisibility?

Ultra-black fish, Ultra-black fish
have melanin, just like human skin,
but pigment structures found within
are packed so tight –
like a gumball machine –
that almost all light gets trapped right in.

By taking a lesson from fish-skin designs
we could make-up a pigment, right shape and size.
The blackest of blacks would be our prize
for material science that tricks human eyes!

first published 2020

 

 

The Curious Unknown  by Elizabeth

The waves crash against the rocks
stumbling about like a teenager,
never knowing when to stop
those tireless tides of flows and knocks.

Carrying others everywhere it goes,
carefree about where it will lead.
A resting place or back for more?
With curious currents – who knows?

Mysteries of the deep adore
diving into endless questions,
searching for new answers,
surfacing each time with more.

first published 2020

 

 

One Big Step for Me  by Ruby

Gathered round old televisions
or listening to radio stations
witnessing that “one big step”
fifty years ago.

Moon:
rising and falling,
controlling the tides,
radiant and bright
though never alight.

Your dusty black land
with rocks, shards of sand,
highlands and craters
makes Moon’s unique textures.

There’s still so much to learn
so, to the Moon we will return.
I wonder … will I ever get a turn?

first published 2019

 

An Ode to Stephen Hawking  by Rowen

Stephen Hawking, a brilliant mind!
Very clever, successful and kind.
One of our best scientific pioneers
with one of the most glittering careers.

Incredibly gifted throughout his time,
a theoretical physicist in his prime,
he became a role model to many young people,
but sadly one day he was rendered near-feeble.

Diagnosed with motor neuron disease
his health declined in small degrees.
But he didn’t give up, no, he pushed ahead,
although his peers thought he’d soon be dead.

He kept living on, yes, he cheated death
until March 14th when he took his last breath.
His students, and theirs, talk of him in a way,
that connects with us all, every hour, every day.

They say this great man was one-of-a-kind.
Stephen Hawking enshrined that brilliant mind.

 

first published 2018

 

Lucky Galileo  by Imogen

Renaissance astronomer Galilei
showed that the Earth revolved round the Sun.
Defying the views of the holiest place,
some Catholics wanted him burned at stake.

Instead, he’s imprisoned in home-arrest
where Bubonic Plague wasn’t a pest.
This “Black Death” caused headache, fever and chills
then lymph glands, like boils, began to swell.

Safe from disease, his life was enhanced.
Protected from getting boils in his pants!

 

first published 2018

 

 

Saving the System  by Reinhold Mangundu

 

The system is life; this system provides.
Such system collapse is people’s demise.
So what are we doing with unthinking minds?
Can you feel, hear or see Earth’s desperate signs?

Bleached coral reefs; no fishing, no work.
Unemployed poverty mustn’t be shirked.
Less copper, less diamonds: they’re closing the mines.
Can you feel, hear or see Earth’s depleted signs?

Our Earth’s system needs us to save, not plunder
her life-giving riches in all their wonder.
So let’s save the system. Let’s roar out her worth!
And join in becoming Guardians of Earth.

 

first published 2018

 

Water Worldwide  by Jonathon

Water glistens, shiny and clear.
From every stream runs Earth’s long tear.
Its floods can cause a lot of strife
and yet it is the gift of life.

Water problems happen worldwide.
With too much water many have died.
With too little water; nothing lives.
So water takes and water gives.

 

first published 2017

 

Light Duties for a Photon by Ava

Photons who are unemployed
but keen, hardworking, bright,
we’d like you to be part of
a brand new ray of light.

To be a working photon
you’ll set the world aglow.
Helping plants to make us food
so we can live and grow.

You have to be a lightweight,
move quickly, still be calm.
You must be an optimist
to keep your sparkle on.

After you have left the Sun
aim straight for Earth’s blue sky.
If the photon job’s for you,
we’d like you to apply!

 

first published 2015

 

Evolution  by Claire

Changes happen every day
slowly gradually in many ways.

Like humans used to be one little cell.
Now we are complex strong and well.

 

What is this process called evolution?
It’s like a slow-motion revolution.

Creatures adapting to their home,
wherever they may choose to roam.

 

Evolution is here in many ways
and doesn’t happen in a matter of days.

Adjusting and adapting to a new area
can take a species many millennia.

 

Evolution is the fish in the sea
that turned into apes, wild and free.

From those apes humans emerged.
From their trees they scattered and surged.

 

We wouldn’t be here on planet Earth
if that small cell hadn’t been in the surf.

To think we wouldn’t be alive
if one little cell hadn’t arrived.

 

first published 2012

 

Did you know that Australia now has a POETRY MONTH each AUGUST?  What a great combination for celebrating a decade of your BRIGHT IDEAS for Science Week in rhyme!

The Webb Telescope revealed so many amazing and beautiful things about our universe over the last year after successfully unpacking itself in space.  You can see some of those images HERE.

Unpacking the Webb Telescope  by Celia Berrell

First, un-pleat some solar cells
and wag that space antenna tail
to give our telescope some power
for data-sending mail.
Open sides, like two long arms,
then stretch-out layers of silver veils
to make a heat-shield from the Sun.
Too hot, our Webb could fail.

Next, erect the smaller mirror
then a radiator,
before reflective parts hinge wide.
That giant mirror’s locked, both sides,
to make a golden-petal flower
with infra-red its viewing power,
to be an ancient star-locator.
Deepest history translator!

inspired by animation of deployment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzGLKQ7_KZQ

We have fourteen poems in celebration of National Science Week 2022 – GLASS: more than meets the eye.  Congratulations to all the poets who kindly participated, sharing their words of intrigue, history, science and beauty.  Please enjoy!

Glass 
by Rylee (Gunnedah South Public School)

Glass can easily smash
Glass can break in a dash

People use glass for mugs
But it’s not for pugs or bugs

It is used to make lots of jars
And there’s actually glass on Mars!

 

Corners that meet the eye
by Michaela

Glass
in the four corners
that meet the eye.

Rooms
filled with the
reflection of yourself
show who you really are.

Formed
with tiny pieces of sand with
the minerals changing its
colour in every corner.

Cracks
consume the many faces
like thunder and
lightning striking them.
And everything in its path

slowly builds it up again
but not as strong and
solid as before.  These
are the faces, the many
faces that meet the eye.

 

Mirror: more than meets the eye
by Ksenia

From one angle of the mirror, 
a young girl is studying. 
From another, 
an adult is partying. 

Only one thing can affect our decisions, 
one thing becomes a guide. 

Our Mind. 

Where we store dreams, hopes,
things we want no one to know.

Yet, it has
more secrets of its own.

More…
than we will ever know.

 

Glasswork Skin
by Jasmine (St Thomas Moore College, Sunnybank, QLD)

I am a stained glass terrarium.
From the outside looking in
my organs float,
structured with nature’s perfection
which is to say
exquisitely organised.

The glass itself is
streaked with human touch:
fingerprinted with ridges
fogged-up with breath
feverishly wiped
and repeated.

This body of mine is fragile
beautiful, in theory 
vulnerable, in reality
every scratch is disillusion,
making me undeniably
still life.

 

Cloak and Dagger 
by Cheryl Polonski

Glass manufacture goes back a long way. 
The skill was a secret, they kept it that way.
It appears that the knack from the Middle East came,
but when it reached Venice things weren’t quite the same.

1200 AD saw the Syrian men,
come under the rule of the Council of Ten.
The Venice Republic security arm,
made sure that the craftsmen would come to no harm.

When furnaces failed and caused fires uncontrolled,
they’d move to an island the craftsmen were told.
Because all the knowledge was fiercely protected,
what happened there next was still not unexpected.

The glassmakers stayed under threats to their lives.
This involved all their family including their wives.
They never could leave but were somewhat rewarded,
with several benefits being afforded.

The glassblowers’ daughters could marry nobility,
bestowing upon them a sense of tranquillity
Producing the best of all glass on display,
the fame of Murano exists to this day.

 

The Art of Glass   
by Sophia Healdgrove

The sandy mineral silica
makes stained glass for the basilica.

Melted with other elements
its colours and hues are brightly intense.

Hot glowing balls of fiery glass
Used in making scientist’s Erlenmeyer flasks.

Beautiful bowls, moulded and curved
a delight on which food can be served.

For hundreds of years, glass artisans toiled
As the glass in their furnaces boiled

They created such delicate works of wonder.
But recently trade began to go under.

The German city of Hamelin
has one glasshouse where many had been.

Machines taking over from made by man
will never achieve what humans can.

The craft of glass-making is precious and rare.
Hand-made, beautiful, intricate glassware.

So let us conserve this beautiful art.
Please trust that I give these words from the heart.

 

Humble Beginnings 
by Cheryl Polonski

A natural glass was once found on the land
near the mouths of volcanoes which melted the sand.
Those obsidian pieces were sharper you see,
than anything else in 4,000 BC.

Our stone-age ancestors then used them for spears.
The benefits recognised down through the years.
For surgeries stainless steel scalpels are made,
but some still prefer an obsidian blade.

The earliest use was for jewellery and beads,
but soon ‘twas discovered, glass filled other needs.
By focussing through a shard, rays of the sun,
the lighting of fires was easily done.

When open wounds threatened life, it was thought wise
to make use of this method and thus cauterise.
The heat focussed through the glass stopped the blood seep.
Experimentation then took quite a leap.

So from humble beginnings there was such a race
for this startling discov’ry to find its true place.
In just about every conceivable science,
there is upon glass a specific reliance.

 

Curious Sand 
by Toni Newell

On a stormy night
If lightning strikes sand
Glass can be formed
On the beach unplanned.
Making glass commercially
Comes in many shapes
Can be a glass or a vase
Even a bowl of grapes.
Just add a few minerals
To make it coloured glass
Formed into a different shape
Sand of a different class.

 

Mystic Glass
by Toni Newell

Walking on the beach
Beneath our feet is sand
However those little grains
Can become a glass in hand.
Sand, lime and soda ash
Using extreme heat
Can form many objects
From which we drink and eat.
It can take a million years
For glass to decompose
That’s why we should recycle
And save our planet woes.

 

Prince Rupert’s Drop
by Myra King

There is a strange phenomenon,
that many may not know,
it’s a drop of glass, a rounded shape,
from firing’s heating glow.

Prince Rupert’s Drop a splendid name
in royal connotation
has a strength that’s way beyond
most imagination.

It can’t be wrecked or smashed by hand
in any way or form
but a fragile state belies its fate
way outside the norm.

Rupert’s Drop’s Achilles’ heel
is its tail long and thin
and if this is snapped the tension’s broke
from just beneath its skin.

A million pieces shatter
to burst the lovely drop
it all happens in an instant
in one explosive pop!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt-zvsGvtqg

 

Glassical Music 
by Sukarma Thareja

Fine glassy goblets for dinner wine
when gently tapped, will tinkle and chime.
If rubbed with damp fingers around their rim,
like an upside-down bell, they start to ring.

Their shape and their size dictate how each hums.
Large empty glasses might groan like a drum.
Pour in some liquid to make their pitch higher.
Together they’ll sound like an eerie choir!

https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/food-facts/question603

 

GLASS for the CLASS  
by Stefan Nicholson

You are tough and often stand guard within a frame,
Like as a window, or fronting a picture,
Or focussing our gaze, when our eyes are not the same.
And I often see through you, unless disguised by your coating,
Put on to dull your amorphous transparent mixture,
Of soda, silica, limestone and ‘fancier’ bits, you often say when gloating.

And it’s obsidian to say that you can’t be naturally found,
A universal secret without human intervention.
And your boast about rapid cooling makes my blood boil,
For when you were made, you were just too hot to handle,
Making parched lungs wait, for when you were of malleable intention,
Else creating such strange objects, as if made by a mischievous vandal.

Yet, I am overwhelmed by the stresses that you quietly hide
Within your new shape or moulded design,
Made whilst gooey like molten plastic, where no animal can abide.
Which makes for great fun when a glass animal is ‘born’
And you see its wonders in detail and colours and lines
Made by us humans, as we’ve been doing from time’s early dawn.

As an art, you are an object of delight in many ways,
Mimicking nature, abstract designs and useful objects to name a few.
Modern buildings tease out new conceptual uses for your display,
Fish swim within your bounds and plants bathe in wind-less sunshine.
You protect and make for easy cleaning – to let us enjoy a safer view
From the sky, on the water, where we can watch the world as we dine.

Broken items can be accidental and there is none more dangerous than glass,
With your warped sharp edges and shards that can stick you like a pin.
But no blame to you, as QA have given you a ‘pass’.
And your character can now be changed, by material science at its best,
To make you stronger, withstand heat and shock, and be made ultra-thin
But I wish that people knew you better, not as a product, but as our guest.

 

Handle Me With Care 
by Sukarma Thareja & Celia Berrell

Sea-shore sand and potash, soda,
made my common sturdy solid.
Crafted since Egyptian times,
my structure is non-crystalline.

My recipes of compound chemicals
make me practical and beautiful.
Sometimes heat-resistant, durable,
always totally recyclable.

Many of my forms are brittle.
Shattered shards of glassy needles
hurt and harm.  They stab and tear.
So handle me with care.  Beware!

 

Aliens in the Atacama Desert 
by Celia Berrell

This desert is dotted
with dark green glass
that came from an alien …
space rock blast!

Punching through air
so incredibly fast,
pressure, heat, friction
became so vast
the silica sand
on the desert below
melted to glass
as that comet explodes.

These alien minerals
scattered the scene,
which seems to have made
those glassy shards green.