Hidden away in an antique store
In Edmond, Oklahoma
Is a curio cabinet
Filled to the brim
With uranium glass
Glowing faintly under
A weak black light
For all to see.
It brings to mind another
Eradiated element
Uranium’s stronger cousin,
Founded by a two time
Nobel prize winner.
In a dark room,
It is said,
You could see her skeleton
Glowing beneath opaque skin
Consumed by her own discovery
From the inside out.
Radioluminescent smears on pages
Of notebooks upon notebooks
Hidden bottles of the element
Shoved in her desk
When paranoia grew
Too strong that her male colleagues
Would steal her precious secret
Before making her scientific debut.
Drops of Radium
Staining pearlescent teeth
In factories across across nations
Never knowing that danger lies
On dancing skin under the midnight sky
Like floating jellyfish
Unaware of the poison dripping from their limbs.
Warnings dropped too late
From the lips of babes
Poisoning the very ground
Bare feet trod on.
And years later,
In the dark lead-laced coffin
A skeleton still glows
All alone in the dark
Like uranium glass
In a curio cabinet
For nobody to see.
(This is really rough and I would LOVE any feedback!)
Marissa,
I’m still learning poetry, and while I don’t feel I have the qualifications to offer advice, but to me the poem, is haunting ( i love that kind of stuff) and I think your niche for sure is historical figure poetry, You have a keen sense of vivid cinematic imagery. Also how you tie in the uranium glass, that it isn’t just an object; it becomes the poem’s anchor? you could illustrate! This and “let them eat cake” should go in a collection to be.