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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

In meter, in structure and function, Conferring re: verse-science junctions… A welcome impending Of sessions, presenting, With schedule now under construction. #Limericks #PoetsForScience #SciencePoetry

A slide of information about the upcoming Poets for Science meeting at Kent State University in mid-November. The slide directs potential attendees to the website link poetsforscience.org/gathering for more information about the November 12-14 event!

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A global theme, noted in metric! Cyanotype prints, most eclectic... The process, inspirin’ Through ions of iron And shine of the sun: blue aesthetic. #WorldCyanotypeDay #Cyanotypes #JohnHerschel #Limericks

These are a few of the many cyanotype prints that my lab classes and I have generated over the years, in honor of World Cyanotype Day, celebrated on the last Saturday of September! Some are simple prints formed via stencils of natural images, while some depict additional efforts through symmetric effects or the use of photographic negatives. The pertinent chemical process here occurs when iron-containing compounds on photosensitized paper react in the presence of ultraviolet light (such as that in sunshine). The technique was developed in the 1840s by Sir John Herschel.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Belated mid-summer abstractions From Fourth of July night’s distractions, With fireworks’ immersing Through colors' dispersing: Reflecting on sky-set diffractions. chemphasis.com/2026/07/15/b...

$A photo of fireworks from this year's Fourth of July celebration. This photo was taken with a diffraction grating in front of the lens, leading to the rainbow effect seen in the bottom of the image.$

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Two squirrels alike in dignity Are scaling yonder walnut tree! Concurrent path is rarely seen; Symmetric-ish in summer green. A scamper-clamber’s quick ascent; Sequential pacing, circumvent.

Two gray squirrels are climbing the same walnut tree with similar postures, almost exactly opposite from one another; there’s an effect of a near-reflected image if one imagines a slightly slanted mirror plane. I used Shakespeare’s famous household descriptor given the squirrels’ identical appearances and the phrase’s fit with the meter of the rest of the rhyme.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

A moment of sunrise-brainstorming Shifts view from the vision conforming; Intention-selective In choice of perspective: A musical staff in the morning. #Limericks

Sunrise, turning the clouds suddenly golden against a pale blue sky; a building, a tree, and a set of power lines are also visible. This was a moment from a morning walk last week. The power lines had seemed at first to obscure the surprisingly vivid view a bit; however, with five of them in sequence, they ultimately suggested a musical staff.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

I think that I shall always find, For Arbor Day, this verse-form kind. Iambic feet of Kilmer’s ode: Botanic celebration code. #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #JoyceKilmer #ArborDay

Sunshine streaming through the green leaves of a tree in April, in honor of Arbor Day. The poem’s meter parallels that of Joyce Kilmer’s famous 1913 verse (“I think that I shall never see / A poem lovely as a tree…”).

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

A cardinal, a pebble, the thunder… Phenomena countless in number. Each morning’s observing; Perspectives, unswerving: We walk in the middle of wonders. #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #Limericks #EarthDay #JohnHerschel #MaryOliver

A small red cardinal in a tree. The photos in this post celebrate signs of spring including birds, deer, and flowers, in honor of Earth Day. The poem itself is inspired by quotes from natural philosopher John Herschel and poet Mary Oliver. In "Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy," written in 1851, Herschel states: "To the natural philosopher there is no natural object unimportant or trifling,” citing “the fall of an apple” or “the situation of a pebble” as two examples. He ultimately notes that one “walks in the midst of wonders.” In Oliver’s 2012 poem “A Thousand Mornings,” she celebrates, in part, “...morning, the light deepening, the wind easing and just waiting, as I too wait (and when have I ever been disappointed?) for redbird to sing.”

Two deer looking out from the midst of the woods. The photos in this post celebrate signs of spring including birds, deer, and flowers, in honor of Earth Day. The poem itself is inspired by quotes from natural philosopher John Herschel and poet Mary Oliver. In "Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy," written in 1851, Herschel states: "To the natural philosopher there is no natural object unimportant or trifling,” citing “the fall of an apple” or “the situation of a pebble” as two examples. He ultimately notes that one “walks in the midst of wonders.” In Oliver’s 2012 poem “A Thousand Mornings,” she celebrates, in part, “...morning, the light deepening, the wind easing and just waiting, as I too wait (and when have I ever been disappointed?) for redbird to sing.”

A bird silhouetted against the early-morning sky. The photos in this post celebrate signs of spring including birds, deer, and flowers, in honor of Earth Day. The poem itself is inspired by quotes from natural philosopher John Herschel and poet Mary Oliver. In "Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy," written in 1851, Herschel states: "To the natural philosopher there is no natural object unimportant or trifling,” citing “the fall of an apple” or “the situation of a pebble” as two examples. He ultimately notes that one “walks in the midst of wonders.” In Oliver’s 2012 poem “A Thousand Mornings,” she celebrates, in part, “...morning, the light deepening, the wind easing and just waiting, as I too wait (and when have I ever been disappointed?) for redbird to sing.”

Spring blossoms on a flowering tree. The photos in this post celebrate signs of spring including birds, deer, and flowers, in honor of Earth Day. The poem itself is inspired by quotes from natural philosopher John Herschel and poet Mary Oliver. In "Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy," written in 1851, Herschel states: "To the natural philosopher there is no natural object unimportant or trifling,” citing “the fall of an apple” or “the situation of a pebble” as two examples. He ultimately notes that one “walks in the midst of wonders.” In Oliver’s 2012 poem “A Thousand Mornings,” she celebrates, in part, “...morning, the light deepening, the wind easing and just waiting, as I too wait (and when have I ever been disappointed?) for redbird to sing.”

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

After your lab, When the data you wield, Consider your calcs And evaluate…

Yield! This photo shows the familiar red and white triangle of a yield sign, in the context of driving/traffic. In a lab context, the actual yield is the amount of a given chemical product you’ve obtained; the theoretical yield is what you could have obtained if the experiment went perfectly; the percent yield gives you a comparison of the two (by taking actual yield divided by theoretical yield and converting to a percentage). Evaluating all three types of yield would be common when completing a lab procedure.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Cyanotype-themed in its topic, Lab notes photochemical logic With stencils and sun. Once process is done, Find prints themed in blue, most rhapsodic! #NaPoWriMo #Limericks #ChemistryInArt #Cyanotypes #Gershwin

This photo shows an array of simple cyanotype prints, with their characteristic deep blue contrasting with lighter images of flowers and ferns, created via stencil. It is impossible not to think of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” when my classes complete these lab activities, and so it was nice to find inspiration for a limerick to highlight that link.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Note light’s seeming-tangible scattering; A sunset, ostensibly “matter-ing”; Crepuscular rays In these long-evening days, With twilight depictions most flattering. #NaPoWriMo #LimerickSunday

I learned the vocab term “crepuscular rays” relatively recently for the specific scattering effect seen when sunbeams pass through clouds; such rays are more subtle in this photo than others I’ve taken, but some can be seen at the top. “Crepuscular” comes from the Latin for “twilight” (crepusculum)… and it is a descriptor that fits well into a limerick’s rhythm!

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Post week-and-a-half trip’s duration Of lunar and space exploration… To Artemis 2: Welcome back, valiant crew, With over-the-moon exultation! #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #Limericks #Artemis

A small bird sits in a tree, silhouetted against the sky of the early dawn. The moon is still visible in the sky.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

A most helpful late-spring-term idiom, With chalk-on-the-sidewalk as medium. New resolve, activate; Peace of mind, cultivate, As we aim to regain….

Equilibrium! This photo shows what looks like a set of half-headed arrows written on chalk on the sidewalk: one pointing backward and the other forward, one on top of the other. In Intro Chemistry terms, this is typically read as an indication of chemical equilibrium: the forward and backward directions of the reaction are balancing one another. At the end of a busy spring semester, it can be a reasonable goal to achieve metaphorical equilibrium, as well!

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Beneath the term’s frantic veneering, Find spring: fundamental, endearing. New-long daylight hours; Return of the flowers: The wonders routine, reappearing. #NaPoWriMo

Some flowers in sharp focus against a blurry background of tree branches and spring blossoms.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

“A first step t’ward Molecular depictions,” Chem profs say. “Electron regions Will repel!” This is the…

This photo shows a sign for a road named “VESPER WAY.” This is both the name for the road and the punchline of the poem. VSEPR (valence-shell electron-pair repulsion) theory, typically pronounced "vesper theory," is a first step toward more complex depictions of three-dimensional molecular geometries in Introductory Chemistry courses. One key idea underlying VSEPR theory is that “electron regions will repel.” (Obviously, this poem takes many shortcuts to achieve a reasonable rhyme scheme!)

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Whose tree this is I think I know. He hides past yonder branches though. #StoppingByWoods #Frost

A red cardinal is barely visible behind several tree branches on a winter afternoon.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

Observed in a day’s late through-farin’; Impressive, a bird’s state (due sharin’): With water-rush weathered In stature quite feathered, A sudden surprise… great blue heron! #LimerickSunday

A great blue heron stands in a nearby creek.

A great blue heron spreads its wings while standing in rushing waters.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

A cardinal’s hue, vivid-winging As rainstorm sets branches to swinging; Soon, blue skies aplenty On day one-and-twenty In back-and-forth-steps of May’s springing. #SpringConstants #Limericks

A small red cardinal is visible in the center of trees in the midst of a rainstorm. (This limerick takes poetic license in alluding to Hooke’s Law, used in physical science to define the movement of a spring via a “spring constant,” to reference the reliably back-and-forth nature of the changes in May’s spring weather.)

Blue skies are already visible on the opposite horizon, reinforcing the theme of dramatic weather changes as a constant aspect of this season. (This limerick takes poetic license in alluding to Hooke’s Law, used in physical science to define the movement of a spring via a “spring constant,” to reference the reliably back-and-forth nature of the changes in May’s spring weather.)

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

I think that I shall deem this eve Of day to celebrate the leaves! On morrow, Arbor Day awaits, The verse-defying plants to fête. #NaPoWriMo #EarthWeek #ArborDayEve #JoyceKilmer

A tree in springtime, with blossoming pink flowers

Summer trees: towering oaks creating a canopy of green.

A quote from Joyce Kilmer’s famous 1913 poem, “Trees.” The poem begins: “I think that I shall never see/ A poem lovely as a tree.”

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

On Earth Day, note worthy intention Of science’s close-paid attention: See patterns emerging From threads’ new-converging, Revealing enriching dimensions. #NaPoWriMo #Limericks #EarthDay #Observation #RobinWallKimmerer

$A quote from the essay “Learning to See,” in Robin Wall Kimmerer’s GATHERING MOSS: A NATURAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY OF MOSSES, first published in 2003. Kimmerer writes: “Slowing down and coming close, we see patterns emerge and expand out of the tangled tapestry threads. The threads are simultaneously distinct from the whole, and part of the whole... Knowing the fractal geometry of an individual snowflake makes the winter landscape even more of a marvel. Knowing the mosses enriches our knowing of the world.”$

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

A morning’s song from bird-soprano, In tree-set melodic crescendo; The view, reminiscent Of project long-distant, Past print in a type of cyano. #NaPoWriMo #LimerickSunday

A photograph of a robin on a tree branch, surrounded by blossoming flowers

A cyanotype of a bird sitting on a branch in springtime-- a past art project comparable to the photograph posted today

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Intro classes’ Sweeping natures: Learn AND speak The nomenclatures! Some, acknowledged; Many, hid; Closer reads can Build a bridge. #NaPoWriMo #STEMVocab #IsaacAsimov

A quote from Isaac Asimov’s introduction to his 1959 book, WORDS OF SCIENCE AND THE HISTORY BEHIND THEM. The quote states: “Entering the world of mathematics and science turns into a meeting with a whole realm of new words... The scientific vocabulary is the bridge by which we enter the land, not the wall that keeps us out.” This week's poems will focus on some common scientific terms.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

One metaphor most vivid for poetic inspiration: / The spark of creativity in supersaturation. / A sudden-seen assembly: solute’s newly found formation / Yields crystallizing product from excessive concentration. #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #NationalLibraryWeek #MargaretAtwood

A quote from Margaret Atwood's 1990 interview in THE PARIS REVIEW. The quote is: "The genesis of a poem for me is usually a cluster of words. The only good metaphor I can think of is a scientific one: dipping a thread into a supersaturated solution to induce crystal formation."

The posted poem uses some terms related to solution chemistry in building on this vivid image!

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

One year since a 3 p.m. midnight, An opportune pause in the sunlight; A brief interaction With solar subtraction: Eclipsing occasion in hindsight. #NaPoWriMo #Limericks #SciencePoetry #EclipsingInteractions #TotalSolarEclipse2024

A photo of the moment of totality from central Ohio during the April 2024 solar eclipse.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

A fluttering, dancing occasion ‘Twixt floral and bay wave equations? The hue of the daffodil: Absorption of xanthophyll! Chem words, worth poetic persuasion. #NaPoWriMo #Limericks #SciencePoetry #HappyBirthday #Wordsworth

A photo of several golden daffodils, in honor of William Wordsworth's birthday and his poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud." The limerick in the post links some of the vivid images from Wordsworth's poem to some related STEM jargon and concepts (taking significant poetic license to do so!).

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

A shift both routine and elysian; A blend between wonder and reason... Past winter's endurance, Returning assurance: Repeated relief of spring's season. #NaPoWriMo #Limericks #RachelCarson #ASenseOfWonder

A sparrow on a tree branch, silhouetted against a spring morning sky

A quote from Rachel Carson's THE SENSE OF WONDER: "There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature: the assurance that the dawn comes after night, and spring after winter. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts."

A collection of spring wildflowers scattered across the ground

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

A new metric month-long ambition! This seventh attempt at tradition, With change in the scen'ry In midst of new green'ry: A first try as Bluesky edition. #NaPoWriMo #Limericks

New green leaves growing on a tree in springtime, against a vivid blue sky

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

The temp’ratures, suddenly rising; A walk in the spring rain enlivens. Note circles concentric, As info calendric Sees April emerge on horizon. #LimerickSunday #NearingEndOfMarch

Concentric circles of ripples in the water, caused by a spring rain shower on a nearby creek.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 02/02/2025

A thaw last week, in first month's ending; A river, once frozen, now rending. Chem thoughts paraphrasing: The changes are fazing, With hallmark of winter now pending. #PhaseChanges #SciencePoetry #LimerickSunday #GroundhogDay

Photograph of a creek in wintertime, with both liquid water and solid ice evident after a recent thaw.

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