I am the very air
you breathe
Your first
and last
breath
I welcomed you
at birth
Shall bid
farewell
at death
I am the Kiss of Life
Its ebb and flow
With your last gasp
You will call my name:
‘o o o o o o o o’
‘O’ is for Oxygen
so gregarious
whereas I am
colourless
odourless
and tasteless
unattractive you might say
unreactive in every way
nitrogen: the night
to oxygen’s day
I am 75 per cent
of the air you breathe
so keep me clean
For when I latch on
to fumes that cars exhaust
I am poison
Nitro-glycerine
that’s me as well Dynamite
I can blow you all to hell
But I’m not without
a sense of humour
N2O is the proof, nitrous oxide
Inhale some laughing gas
and see my funny side
N is my symbol
N for nebulous
necessary
and nondescript.
I am an atom of carbon
And carbon is the key
I am the element of life
And you owe yours to me
I am the glue of the Universe
The fixative
used by the Great Model-maker
I play a waiting game
Lie low that’s my secret
Take a breath every millennium
But though set in my ways
Don’t be misled. I’m not inert
I will go down in cosmic history
as an adventurer
For when I do make a move
Things happen and fast
I am an atom of carbon
And carbon is the key
I am the element of life
And you owe yours to me
When the tune is called
I carry the message
to the piper
Take the lead
in the decorous dance
of life and death
Patient, single-minded and stable
I keep my talents hidden
Bide my time
Until by Time am bidden.
Fe fi fo fum
As hard as nails
As tough as they come
I’m the most important
Metal known to man
(though aluminium
is more common
do we need another can?)
Five per cent of the earth’s crust
I am also the stone at its centre
Iron fist in iron glove
Adding weight to the system
I am the firma in the terra
Fe fi fo
Don’t drop me on your toe
My hobbies are space travel
And changing the course of history
(they even named an Age after me
– eat your heart out Gold)
And changing shape of course
From axe heads and plough shares
To masks maidens and missiles
I am malleable
I bend to your will
I am both the sword and the shield
The bullet and the forceps
I am all around you
And more much more
You are all around me 2, 3, 4…
You’ve got me
Under your skin
I’m in your blood
What a spin that I’m in
Haemoglobin
You’ve got me
Under your skin
So strike while I’m hot
For if I’m not there
What are you?
Anaemic that’s what
Fe fi
High and mighty
Iron
Gregarious and fancy-free
Easy going that’s me
No hidden depths
I’m not elusive
To be conclusive
You get what you see
Fe Fe
I repose at great speed
The joker in the pack
I cannot be fathomed
and turn your preconceptions
upside-down
You’ll find me attractive
But I’m bad
(a poisoned chalice)
Hatters did
and they went mad
(ask Alice)
Alchemists
throughout the years
have been besotted by me
And understandably
I promised Gold
immortality
The secret of eternal youth
What I delivered
was Death
A stab in the back
As befits
The joker in the pack
Quicksilver
I am a messenger
And the message that I bring
is…
I’m what gets witches
a bad name
Funny smells
Gobbledy spells
Given to theatrics
I go in for special effects:
Brimstone and treacle
Hellfire. Eureka!
Gold! The Elixir of Life! Immortality!
Chinese alchemists were obsessed
Emperors were impressed
But in Beijing
I couldn’t stop them
– ageing
And so they died
(But not in vain)
For a potion more mundane
was chanced upon
The Chinese called it:
‘Fire Drug’
Mobsters
got where they got with it…
Children
play a lot with it…
Cities
glow white hot with it…
Guy Fawkes
hatched a plot with it…
Gunpowder.
I’m not a colour
Let’s get that one straight
right from the start
Sunsets Daffodils Eagles
All take my name in vain
For vanity it is
Let me explain:
I’m the heart of things The core
The Emperor of metals
Hence, or
Without me, commerce
would grind to a halt.
No money No trade
Civilization (as you wish to know it)
simply fade
Of course, I can bring out the worse
I admit
That people kill for me
That rivers of blood
have been shed in my name
But that’s you Not me.
I’m not to blame
I glister
Am all show All style
My aim is simple
To make you smile
Come closer:
If you had gold
and were offered something else
Would you swap?
No
You see, I’ve every right to crow
Le Coq d’or
… The one on top
I’m not real gold
A sham
Pyrite is what I am
But I’m gold to the touch
And look like gold as well
So who can tell?
Except the scientist
(this alchemist who casts a spell
exposing me)
But I don’t care
I had a good run for my money
Besides
All gold is fool’s gold
For what is it after all?
Bright yellow dung?
The sun’s tears?
Satan’s urine?
Gold
All who love you are fools.
A mayfly blinks
I have lived and died
a thousand times
Mine is a short life
but an exciting one
I am man-made
and owe my existence
to science
I have no name
merely a number:
109. It suits me
I could go on
for hours and hours
about my various properties
But I won’t
Now you see me
Now you…