Guerilla Science

Note from Guerrilla: This experiment has been postponed due to an apparent strike by the subjects. Anyone who has raised plants knows that they have a strong sense of justice and, when they feel an injustice has been levied upon them, as in the case of scientific experimentation, they will practice civil disobedience: Root-ins, photosynthesis strikes, silence. However, though stubborn and shrewd, they are incapable of  comprehending deceit, and are easily outsmarted by humans since we are, of course, experts in this area. Therefore, I will let them think they have achieved victory and experiment upon them at a later date when they hardly expect it.





Introduction:

It has been well established in previous investigations that plants communicate chemically through the soil and air (lazy person will eventually insert citations here). It was noted by this observer one day that her own potted plants appeared to be communicating in quite a different manner: by touching their leaves together. In this observational study which will eventually be performed more rigorously, my Fern and African Violet (lazy person will eventually insert scientific names here) were used to demonstrate that plants grown separated in pots, in close proximity to one another, will grow towards one another regardless of the direction of the light.

Methods

My Fern and African Violet, in a direct affront to their autonomy and privacy, were inhumanely isolated in pots and subjected to this cruel experiment. The intention of this researcher, once this preliminary observational study is complete, is to commit more atrocities against plants in the interest of science by expanding her sample size and improving on her study design.

Results

Results will be posted in the form of photos. On the left is a picture of these two rascals caught in the act. Note the direction of the light. Of course, given the Fern's superior flexibility, it is the Fern that is the aggressor in this case. On the right is a photograph taken a few minutes later. The Fern has been moved away from the Violet so that the offending leaf is now approximately two centimeters away (this lazy researcher will use more exact measurements in the future more formal study). Photographs will now be taken and posted daily to see what transpires. Ha. Plant term. No pun intended.



Discussion

Once demonstrated, one can only guess what these mysterious creatures are up to. This lazy researcher is not about to speculate on the possibilities and will leave that part up to more focused individuals. At the risk of sounding like a lunatic, however, this very scientifically minded agnostic will draw one very general conclusion from these observations: there is more going on with plants than we know.

From a Freudian Dream

From one me to the others,

Especially she who casts her body on the eternal floor
Emitting short, guttural bursts
Swinging a tear-soaked stick as
Pieces of flesh fly aloft
to and fro,
A swirling blur
Splashes across breasts
of gawking strangers.

You took no notice as I
Silently retrieved
A small piece
of these smithereens,
Carried it back to my bunker,
Spread it on a soft nutrient medium,
Tweezers teasing the edges
Into an optimal position.

Under a dome of thick glass,
It now rests on the sill.
I sit watchfully beside it
in a rocking chair.

I will be patient.

For far too long
From this sequestered room
I have witnessed you
and the careless one
who loses and maims fragile things inadvertently.
Run the show.

Survival

 

On Saturday

I watched a live demonstration
On how to throw an At-latel
 Such a simple device
 Could take down a Mastodon.

Today,
 I sit in the industrial park: suite 10101
Eyeing a Canada Goose
Waddling across a thin strip of brown grass
And I prepare my weapons:
Cynicism, honed into a positive attitude

Disgust, pounded into consent
A sneer, whittled carefully into a smile

 Survival.

Cosmic View

Galaxies collide
In a silk cove, a spider
I will give up fear.

Luxury of Goodness

I would've been a better man in better times
I smile at the sound of laughing children
Running barefoot through the grass
The smell of mountain air.
I have given coins to amputees,
Wondered at the stars.
Traded dark feelings for joy,
And I have loved.

The luxury of goodness.
Is there an equation for morality?
I only bolted the barricade.

I would've been a better man in better times.
Most aren't even tested.

You can keep the car

 

 

And I will keep the nights under the stars.

Maybe it is just the gin, without you I just sit and spin

On this fulcrum where your balance'd been.

And you forget that you, too, played a part.

Your innocence,  my guilt, is like some astrologic chart.

As if you rub your wounds with dirt

While from fresh gauze I knit a skirt

And flit the rim at other men.

See, always to your wounds I'll tend.

Because I love you though I left you and the things that love collects.

But I didn't mean to leave you scars

I meant to leave you nights under the stars.

 

 

Longer

A cold rain in May

You took the longer route

Sparing me the drenching on the way to my door.

Wipers smashed the delicate drops

While I realized this was the reason

It was not just to stay with me

Longer.