the periodic dissertation

my eighth grade science teacher

taught us the periodic table

and though i am now only able

to remember up to potassium

it spurred a conversation,

no- a sensation

the realization that all i wanted

was to go beyond this isolation

go beyond this endless pool

this one stop in the universe

this station we all call home

there can be no hesitation

when one is becoming an astronaut

doing the job of a generation

just to see the fragmentation

of the stars in our eyes

i want to give that narration

to the deep blue velvet

of our very own skies

i fear for the day

we find life on other planets

because nothing short of god’s altercation

is going to stop us from immediate colonization

that fixation that comes with new places, new faces

no more laces are there in the boots of the universe

we tied them together in an act of deviation

the feeling of dislocation when the great arm of the milky way

is ripped free from hibernation

as we watch in frustration from our tight knit couches

when the the moon landing is the presentation

the yelling of our nation:

“all in the name of progress!”

we will never settle for anything less

not when we just arrived

in the belly of the beast of exploration

there is no place for trepidation

in the land of underestimation

but you simply can’t make a reservation

in a place like space

something so clearly meant for observation

it defies all expectation and explanation

no nomination of any constellation

will ever be confirmation enough

that we are doing the right stuff;

the right stuff meaning the obligation

to commit an act of elevation

to the stars that died centuries ago

much to our own detestation

we do not understand the desolation

caused by the death of visitation

the price of our gratification

is not up to our own interpretation

we don’t decide on harmonization

validation can only be given

by those with the proper ornamentation,

those with in-check prioritization

this is not a simulation

there is not restart button

we don’t get to try again,

we don’t get a new variation

thanks to my education

i know that nitrogen comes after carbon

so here is some information

a placation for the masses:

no one calls for cessation

when stopping means a declaration

of our own silent desperation

so here is my periodic dissertation

i am no mendeleev

but i have a certain tribulation to share

with any civilization willing to listen:

it all started with an acceleration

an annihilation of peace and quiet

let it end with a transformation

give the night a salutation

tell it your appreciation

for the liberation it has brought

to the human salvation