poem Cesium, a poem from the “Periodic Table of Poetry” series (#055, Cs) By Chicago Poet Janet Kuypers — Cesium poem, Periodic Table poem, element poem, time poem, nanosecond poem, Cesium clocks, poem, global village poem, Cesium-133 poem, radiation poem, frequency poem, atomic clock poem, human construct poem, clock poem

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Cesium
Janet Kuypers
from the “Periodic Table of Poetry” series (#055, Cs)
3/26/13
Is this the best of times?
Is this the worst of times?
Or is this just
one of those times?
Only humans understand time —
where did all the time go?
Do we even know?
Time slips away
as we look for ways
to keep time every day
right down to the nanosecond.
Because without my Cesium,
I couldn’t be so obsessed
with being on time
for absolutely everything...
Without Cesium clocks,
everyone would be forced
to be their clueless selves
when it comes to their time
in this global village...
We can thank Cesium-133
for producing identical radiation
at exactly the same frequency,
which makes Cesium perfect
for the Cesium atomic clock
that monitors time globally
in such perfect detail.
Perfect for my obsession with time.
But I have to remember
that with Cesium or without,
time is only a human construct...
I’ll need to check my watch,
and remind myself of this
at times like these.

See YouTube video
of Kuypers reading this poem 4/10/13 at the Café Gallery in Chicago (from the Canon camera)

See YouTube video
of Kuypers reading this poem 4/10/13 at the Café Gallery in Chicago (from the Sony camera)

See YouTube video
of the Janet Kuypers Periodic Table mini feature 4/10/13 at Gallery Cabaret’s the Café Gallery in Chicago (Canon) that includes this poem

See YouTube video
of the Janet Kuypers Periodic Table mini feature 4/10/13 at Gallery Cabaret’s the Café Gallery in Chicago (Sony) that includes this poem

See YouTube video
of Kuypers hosting the open mic 4/10/13 at Gallery Cabaret’s the Café Gallery in Chicago, starting and ending w/ her poetry mini features, with this poem

See YouTube video
of the Janet Kuypers reading this Periodic Table poem in her mini feature “Mega Reading” 4/13/13 at the Art Colony in Chicago (Sony)

See YouTube video
of the Janet Kuypers reading this Periodic Table poem in her mini feature “Mega Reading” 4/13/13 at the Art Colony in Chicago (Canon)

See YouTube video
of the Janet Kuypers Periodic Table mini feature “Mega Reading” 4/13/13 at the Art Colony in Chicago (Sony) that includes this poem

See YouTube video
of the Janet Kuypers Periodic Table mini feature “Mega Reading” 4/13/13 at the Art Colony in Chicago (Canon) that includes this poem

Download this poem in the free chapbook
Mega Reading, w/ Periodic Table poems
read live 4/13/13 at the Art Colony in Chicago

See YouTube video
of Jerry Pendergast reading Janet Kuypers’ Periodic Table poem Cesium 6/22/15 at Laschet’s in Chicago (Sony fs200)

Cesium Cesium Cesium Cesium Cesium Cesium

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