poem Ununseptium, a poem from the “Periodic Table of Poetry” series (#117, eka-astatine, dvi-iodine, Uus), written 12/23/12 (with poetry from “Tired of Trying,” from the “Depression - the singles”, By Chicago Poet and performance artist Janet Kuypers — Ununseptium poem, Janet Kuypers poem, Periodic Table poem, eka-astatine poem, dvi-iodine poem, Uus poem, Tired of Trying poem, Depression - the singles poem, Dubna poem, Americans poem, Tennessee poem, 22 milligrams poem, Berkelium poem, Moscow poem, pharmacy poem, Nevsky Prospekt poem, Leningrad poem, chemicals poem, scientists poem, stable poem, island poem, lead poem, Atlantic poem, customs poem, active actions poem, short bursts poem

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Ununseptium
Janet Kuypers
from the “Periodic Table of Poetry” series (#117, eka-astatine, dvi-iodine, Uus)
12/23/12 (with poetry from “Tired of Trying,”
from the “Depression - the singles” collection, written 7/7/12)
I knew you were out there for years.
But to get you, after toiling in my Dubna lab
we had to ask the Americans
over in Tennessee
if they could send us
some of their wares,
but years passed before I could get
22 milligrams of Berkelium
so I could work in Moscow Oblast
to get you in my sights.
All that time, all I could do
was research, hope.
I’d work, I’d go
and I’d stand on my own,
and I’d leave on my own,*
wondering how long it would take
before I’d see what you might be like.
You see, I used to work at a pharmacy
at Nevsky Prospekt in Leningrad,
that’s when I fell in love
with learning about chemicals,
and that is when I wanted
to discover something truly new.
That’s when you came into the picture.
Because after years of work,
I still waited for those damn Americans
to come through for us.
I mean, we’re scientists,
we’re supposed to be on the same side,
this is all about discovery.
And the thing is,
the higher we get in our research,
the more stable we got
on our little island of knowledge.
But this waiting was exasperating —
I got to the point
that I got tired of trying to tell myself
that I had something to discover,
something to share,
that someone wanted to hear.**
Eventually, they had to ship
what I needed to get you
in five packages wrapped in lead;
it flew back and forth
across the Atlantic five times
and was rejected twice by customs.
But once I got what I needed —
oh, you were just about
the heaviest thing I could imagine.
Then again, you’ve had me
spinning around over the years for you,
so it wouldn’t surprise me
if you would do the same for me.
So I’d work while listening to the radio,
and active actions from you
would come to me in short bursts.
But I’ll take whatever I can get
in my little corner of the world.
This is research. And this is what I do
to learn what I can from you.

* “How Soon is Now,” the Smiths, 1984
** “Tired of Life”, 2012

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Like Janet Kuypers’ writing on any of these links below:

See YouTube video
of Kuypers reading this poem 1/2/13 at the Café Gallery in Chicago (from the Canon camera)

See YouTube video
of Kuypers reading this poem 1/2/13 at the Café Gallery in Chicago (from the Sony camera)

See YouTube video
of Kuypers reading 5 Periodic Table of Poetry” poems 1/2/13 at the Café Gallery in Chicago (from the Canon camera), including this poem

See YouTube video
of Kuypers reading 5 Periodic Table of Poetry” poems 1/2/13 at the Café Gallery in Chicago (from the Canon, w#&047; Threshold filter), including this poem

See YouTube video

of Kuypers reading 5 Periodic Table of Poetry” poems 1/2/13 at the Café Gallery in Chicago (from the Sony camera), including this poem

See YouTube video

of Kuypers reading 5 Periodic Table of Poetry” poems 1/2/13 at the Café Gallery in Chicago (from the Sony, w/ Posterize filter), including this poem

See YouTube video
of Kuypers hosting the open mic 1/2/13 at Gallery Cabaret’s the Café Gallery in Chicago, plus this periodica table poem

See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her Periodic Table poem Ununseptium live 2/23/14 at Chemistry, Poetry and a Brat in Kenosha WI at the Brat Stop (C)

See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her Periodic Table poem Ununseptium live 2/23/14 at Chemistry, Poetry and a Brat in Kenosha WI’s the Brat Stop (C, Edge Det.)

See YouTube video
of Janet Kuypers reading this Periodic Table poem Ununseptium in her Crossing Borders for International (and Interplanetary) Peace feature, live in Chicago 10/8/14 at Cup & Spoon, for Chicago Calling (C)

See YouTube video
of Janet Kuypers reading this Periodic Table poem Ununseptium in her Crossing Borders for International (and Interplanetary) Peace feature, live in Chicago 10/8/14 at Cup & Spoon, for Chicago Calling (S)

Download this poem & more in the free PDF
Crossing Borders for International
(and Interplanetary) Peace chapbook,
w/ Periodic Table of Poetry poems.

my hand to an anim of jkchair