Trove

Rosemary Joiner

20S + 4O ≈ $24t
≈ 328,000,000 c.m.
≈ 4.9x10E21 pounds 

Oxygen, hydrogen, chlorine
Unseen lights between and within
To miss the secret sodium kiss
The exhale at the final sandy sunset
Elements missed as the wave-light refracts
With the tilt of a chin

Twenty seas
Four oceans
Pounds and miles and dollars in trillions 

Twenty-four trillion songs
Sing the contoured trajectory
Connections of treasure
But to miss the mother song of the whale
As the moonlight reflects poetry
In a slow lapping prose

To measure the treasure of an ocean
But to miss what is known
In the heart-trove

The Science

The narrative explores the challenges of quantitative research measuring the value of tricky subjects. Dr Tully Barnett uses the example of research which found the world’s oceans to be worth 24 trillion dollars. The poet seeks to find understanding through this example, drawing on the world’s twenty seas, four oceans and cubic capacity, exploring the intrinsic, human, and regenerative value therein. Elements of our environment and society can reside outside usual metrics of measure. The poem ‘Trove’ is an exploration of the role of art and storytelling in research practice.  

The Poet

Rosemary Joiner is a writer and PhD candidate at Federation University in Australia. She is interested in how practice based creative research can produce artefacts which can exist as an alternative and an accompaniment to traditional research studies. She lives in GunaiKurnai land in south-eastern Australia.  

Next poem: Vicious Circle by Thomas Grys