Love may be found by soaking a piece of moss
in spring water. Love is short and plump
with four pairs of legs, each with four to eight claws
called discs. Love occurs from the Himalayas
to the deep sea, the polar regions to the equator.
Love can withstand temperatures just above
absolute zero to well above the boiling point
of water, pressures six times those found
on the bottom of the oceans, ionizing
radiation at doses hundreds of times the
lethal dose for humans, and the vacuum
of outer space. Love is water dwelling. As water
expands upon freezing, dehydration ensures love
won’t get ripped apart by the ice. Love can survive
in a desiccated state for 10 years. Over 1100 species
of love have been identified. Most species of love
are plant eaters, but some are predatory. Love is
ancient, dating from the Cambrian. Love may be
viewed under a low power microscope, making love
accessible to students and amateur scientists.
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This is a response to Dave Bonta’s Facebook call to write a poem about the extremophile Tardigrade aka Water Bear. It’s in a similar vein to last week’s Desire/Tarantula Hawk replacement poem. This is kind of a fun exercise, and I wonder if I might keep doing this. Maybe come up with a field guide to the emotions or something like that. I used Wikipedia for my source material.
James Brush is a teacher and writer who lives in Austin, TX. He tries to get outside as much as possible.
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