Jan 15, 2022 Chrysovalantou Kalaitzidou

Breathe in science, breathe out poetry

Abstract words sometimes form concrete ideas

Poetry is derived from the Greek poiesis, i.e. making, the activity in which a person brings something into being that did not exist before. But wait: isn't this -at least partly- true for what Science stands for?

My two passions are Science and Poetry. During the daylight, I dive into the mysteries of science, training myself to comprehend them, combining pieces to make a story, to finally understand why. But at night, I travel through lyrics and rhymes into the depths of the soul and mind. Sometimes, I wear my cape of imagination and leave words on the paper -pieces again- that form a story, a feeling, an idea. For years, I thought these passions were distinct. I was trying to compartmentalize my two selves: the scientist and the poet, the rational and the fictional, the brain and the heart. Lately, I have wondered about their intersection without necessarily choosing one road instead of the other. And with some research, I was glad to find that I am not the only one.

Communicate science with lyrics to educate and raise awareness

The obvious way that the interconnection between Science and Poetry is established is in terms of science communication. Poetry is one creative tool that scientists can use in order to communicate their work in appealing ways or to enhance their own learning, as well as that of others. In addition, and I would say most importantly, scientists use lyrical expression in order to engage the audience in matters of great significance, such as the environmental crisis. For example, in this deceptively simple poem, Stults gets at some of the deepest and most complex questions of climate change: who to blame and how to move forward.

Warned, by Sylvia Stults published at familyfriendpoems.com

The sands of time have rendered fear

Blue skies on high no longer clear

Stars were bright whence they came

Now dimmed, obscured, pollution's haze

Crystal clear, our waters gleamed

Fish abundant, rivers streamed

Ocean floors sandy white

Now littered, brown, pollution's plight

Trees towered high above

Trunks baring professed love

Birds chirping from sites unseen

Gone, the paper joined pollution's team

One can't blame pollution alone

As they say, you reap what you've sown

So let us plant a better seed

Tear out old roots, cultivate, weed

Protect what has been given for free

Our waters, skies, wildlife and trees

For once they're gone, don't you say

Consider yourself warned of that fatal day

Undercover science disguised as poetry

I will admit it: this is my favorite kind! Using scientific facts or tips, definitions and theorems (yes theorems!) in order to express a greater idea or feeling. I love the contradiction that comes with it: science, an established and concrete truth, embedded within an abstract context in order to deliver ambiguous meanings. The poem below will give you an idea of what I mean, written by one of my favorite poets, the scientist Miroslav Holub.

We have

a map of the Universe

for microbes,

a map of a microbe

for the Universe.

We have

a Grand Master of chess

made of electronic valves.

But above all

we have

the ability

to sort peas,

to cup water in our hands,

to seek

the right screw

under the sofa

for hours

This

gives us

wings.

Express yourself and your struggles

Most of the time, poetry serves as a getaway from our daily routine or even ourselves. It takes some distance to bring us closer to what we actually need, what we get strength from, what inspires us. To understand why we are here and where we are heading to? Marie Curie seems to have known better.

Untitled by Marie Curie (1892) - Madame Curie (Curie, È. and Giustiniani, M., 1938, p. 225). Paris: Gallimard. The poem was written in Polish and translated into English by Ève Curie.

Ah! how harshly the youth of the student passes,

While all around her, with passions ever fresh,

Other youths search eagerly for easy pleasures!

And yet in solitude

She lives, obscure and blessed,

For in her cell she finds the ardor

That makes her heart immense.

But the blessed time is effaced.

She must leave the land of Science

To go out and struggle for her bread

On the gray roads of life.

Often and often then, her weary spirit