* This poem and other poems are inspired from pictures are from the book ' Microcosmos,' created by Brandon Brill from London. I think I've managed to get the photo in here, so others who have not received the email with all of them in it can see what I'm talking about.

Calcium Phosphate Crystal*

Microscopically

deliquescent* and amorphous*.

An earthly helper,

a style, or a catalyst. So tiny,

our eyes, which mortals think

their eyes see everything in life,

don’t notice your crystalline uniqueness

– a small spectrum from blue

to violet to red.

The macro-world would pass you by

except for your many uses.

Animals know your effects

so do teeth and plants.  

So, invisible mineral, what can we

call you?

Ca(H₂PO₄)₂  or

CaHPO_4, or

Ca₃(PO₄)₂. 

Your names are confusing,

to the chemically-challenged,

but you function well in the many

uses humans have for you.

Your invisibility in our lives

points out once more

that we are not

omnipotent

omnipresent

omniscient

like the God who created you.

*deliquescent – 1. tending to melt or dissolve; 2. having repeated division into branches.

*amorphous – 1. shapeless; 2. being without definite character, unity, or organization; 3. having no real or apparent crystalline form.

* calcium phosphate

n.

1. A colorless deliquescent powder, Ca(H₂PO₄)₂, used in baking powders, as a plant food, as a plastic stabilizer, and in glass.

2. A white crystalline powder, CaHPO₄, used as an animal food, as a plastic stabilizer, and in glass and toothpaste.