Sheen

Roger Suffling

I. Spelling Bee

I.r.i.d.e.s.c.e.n.c.e
Is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to gradually change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes.
A word that should be seen, not heard
As the soft sounds of this
rainbow moniker sap
the flash and flare
gone so soon
peekaboo
fleeting
essence
Iridescence.

II. Blue Morpho

Dangling from foliage, wings closed
he's brown throughout, but full of eyes
and about to excite the ladies.
This butterfly will - will not - disappoint.
Shazam!
In an azure explosion, but silent
every miniscule cell, every wing-scale is aligned to captivate
then claim never to have existed.
The creature scintillates, folds, then
Shine-wings away

III. Opal

Imagine. Perky molecules arrayed
in a freshly watered and raked crystal arena.
Drum majorettes, uniformed in glittering white
prancing, flashing batons in obsequious lines, turning
on the parade ground of light to scarlet
fusiliers, all silvered medals and brassy buckles.
They turn, further now, to Blue Jackets, 
and finally, commandos in camo
with nary a smiling shine

IV. Snared 

Oil-based molecules, in their single layer, align. 
In sudsy water or on puddled highways, newly tarred
They beguile fleetingly.
Just so for sabretooth tiger in La Brea’s indigo pool that
having trod the solid sheen for trapped prey, found it fluid
then viscid
and roiled to a slow, gasping demise.
Just so for the fly on the pitcher plant’s slick-spined rim
promised sugared green, and red delights
but inexorably drowned
and just so for the oilman toiling in his tar-sand pit
as he severs Earth’s shining guts
to sell the glistening prize that
we gulp down
that gulps us down 

V. Angle of View

In the interrogation room
you observe me in a monochrome
of red, green, or blue, and you press me
to confess to what I am
the one captured in a particular light
but come around to my side of the table
and I’ll take yours
at least for the time it takes to sip a coffee.
That requires your shuffling to the right or left
enduring the discomfort of staring past the naked lightbulb
and seeing me in a different political colour
or none.

The Science

Iridescence (goniochromism) is a phenomenon whereby surfaces appear to change colour as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. It is caused by wave interference in microstructures or thin films, for instance in feathers, soap bubbles and butterfly wings. Minerals such as opal also exhibit iridescence, and its related phenomenon, opalescence, involving white light. Iridescence is caused by wave interference of light in microstructures and thin films. It often involves multiple reflections from two or more semi-transparent, layered surfaces. These amplify or attenuate certain light frequencies. 

The poem references the blue morpho butterfly (Morpho menelaus) of Central and South America, the extinct Sabre-toothed cat (Smilodon fatalis), and carnivorous Pitcher plants (Sarraceniaceae) that snare insects in highly modified, jug-shaped leaves.

The Poet

Roger Suffling lives in Canada. His non-science articles and poetry have been published in Canadian, American and UK journals including Shot Glass Journal, Morphrog, Poetry Pause, and Environments Journal. He was a runner-up in the 2020 Night Skies Poetry Competition. He is currently working on a historical novel based on experience as an ecologist in Northern Ontario.

Next poem: Spectroscoping by Frances Boyle