Butterflies

Nicholas J. Kinar

i’ve often contemplated if words could be pinned on paper
like butterflies in an entomologist’s grasp or insects that sleep
beneath the placid surface of alcohol

and would beauty diminish or be preserved
encapsulated under glass
faded placards
humble enmities to existence

with every word i write
every space i leave
i wonder will my words be discussed or dissected under a brightness
iridescent as clouds under a summer sun

words that remember every wingbeat and heartbeat
words that unfold
glitter
turn and twist through the air
to be caught in a net

each butterfly a word
each apple blossom a sentence
every tree a paragraph
and the rest of the world a story

 told to understand an equation
to express logic in words that shimmer and move
and are only alive
like butterflies held within the collective memory
of scientific papers
interpreted
misinterpreted
before significance is found

yet measurement is not exact and numbers are ephemeral
as emotions found along a quiet path
shafts of sunlight between trees
and gravel scraping under shoes

butterflies in the air
moving indeterminately on a breeze
that cannot be fully captured nor understood
Navier-Stokes describing elements of a tangible reality
that may or may not be associated with the weather patterns
of a scientist’s dream
swirls of fluid under the meniscus of an uncertain world

The Science

To document an experiment, process or component of the environment, words and equations are used to capture some observational elements. However, descriptions and mathematics are human inventions that do not completely describe nature. An element of a time series is only a representation of a physical quantity that is dependent on the accuracy and precision of a scientific instrument used to collect observations. There is uncertainty in all data and meaning can only be found by reading, writing and discussion. Communication and interpretation are therefore important components of the scientific process.

The Poet

Nicholas J. Kinar is a hydrologist and water scientist with the Global Institute for Water Security and the Centre for Hydrology at the University of Saskatchewan. His poetry has been performed on CBC Radio in Canada. He has served as a photographer and videographer for the Canadian Geophysical Union conference and for other conferences in Canada. Nicholas is engaged in photography and videography with Full Deck Visuals, a registered company that he operates when not writing scientific papers.

Next poem: Daydream of a scientist by Tayyibah Tahier