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Land of Periodicity

By: Rob (School of Chemistry)
Competition Year: 2014
Votes (4) | Comments (0)
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Beyond the hills the sun did rise,
Illuminating darkened skies,
Trees blossom, whilst petals open
Wind stroked grass in swaying motion
In this sweet land of mass
Another night has come to pass
The morning has dawned, the scene is set,
A story begins, untold as of yet.
Tis the kingdom of atoms,
(One hard to fathom)
Inhabited by nuclei
Hard to imagine, but please do try!
The king and queen, are in nature tame
Helium and Argon to be their name.
For centuries ruled by noble gases,
The periodic kingdom’s upper classes…
Stiff and stable, the nobles do not budge,
Conservative; react not to push nor nudge.
Though a scandal does exist,
Concealed in propaganda mist.
Their eldest daughter, pretty xenon,
Eloped with lover; upped and gone!
Which element be her charmer though?
Fluorine! Clan Halogen’s hero!
A roguish fellow, and slight crook
Electron thief, his victims shook…
Delicate Xenon has fallen victim
To Fluorine’s electronegative dictum.
But the Halogens, interestingly,
Have a peculiar feuding history
They are the family Capulet
To the alkali metal Montague threat.
With violent clashes on every occasion,
In greatest climax property invasion!
Exothermic battles have been fought
Between these tribes, and all for nought!
The Alkali’s cousin of earthen descent,
On Halogen’s demise they too are bent
Grave upon grave in lattice pattern
Never ceasing; tide shows no sign to turn…
Leaving the keep and towards the square
One is greeted with trumpet blare
The general hubbub of market traders
And pickpocket lone pair raiders,
The likes of Hydrogen, deft and sleight;
Snitches and thieves that rule the night.
Stalls are safe, during the day
Metal sellers with wares on display.
Market square, by the name of d-block
Teeming with bright and colourful stock
Busy Cobalt; red with water, or dark blue
With chlorine in oxidation plus two.
Sly Chromium bartered electrons three
In return for royal purple and green of pea.
It’s proved indeed by Nickel, Iron, Zinc and Copper
That variety can make a happy shopper.
Though the merchant with greatest wealth
Likened by the Nobles and kept in health
Similarly passive yet with personality bold,
Monogrammed A and U his name is gold!
Church bells ring and light recedes
As dusk descends and night proceeds
Seedy taverns and bars along the lane
Ignite lamps and shutter window pane.
Gang leader Carbons chair clandestine meetings,
Crooked Hydrogen split loot with underhand greetings.
Workers of the night open their doors
Oxygen molecules serving as whores.
Which elements have not had an oxide in their time?
Few let it be known, for it is a sordid crime…
The raucous din of nocturnal behaviour
Swallows the town from which there is no saviour,
But outside the walls and across the river
Where the animals don’t’ stray and the trees do shiver,
There resides heavy creatures
With as-of-yet undetermined features.
Rarely seen and commonly fabled,
As trolls and bandits they are labelled…
Time will tell of these minority’s fate,
For in this land it grows late.
The hour’s early and the townsfolk sleep,
Do not fret though as they will keep.
For centuries it’s been as it has today,
For centuries more it’ll will stay this way.
The periodic kingdom is rich and diverse
With boundaries spread round the universe…
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