Elements

With bold diagonal strokes,
Mr.Wakawich, our science teacher,     
wrote on the blackboard:

C

            A

                        R

                                    B

                                                O

                                                            N.

He tossed the chalk casually into the air,
a flaky stick of pale learning
which could identify elements, stabilize
isotopes, calculate specific gravity.
Hand-waving, never incorrect, class genius,
Orest Kewan volunteered: Carbon, a non-
metallic chemical element
atomic number 6, with the symbol C,
the most abundant element in the earth’s crust… 
It was early June, our class was reviewing for finals,
but my eyes were locked on the alpine asters
outside the window, bursting in purple joy
and bathed in full magnetic sun,
Oh God!  How I wanted to be out there
lounging in my cobalt bikini as my bones
grew colder in the metallic gray chair.
Orest’s graveled voice that wouldn’t shut up.
The periodic chart beginning to blur.
And the clock hadn’t moved
since I last looked up.
And I knew I would die
in that 9^th grade science classroom
on the hottest recorded summer day
in Alberta.