"Locomotive Breath" Poem by Gayathri Seetharam

"Locomotive Breath"
-Gayathri B. Seetharam
I plan to make a wooden train
Based on the design of the one given by my engineer girlfriend, Poornima,
To my husband as a Ph.D graduation gift
It is very beautiful and I thought that it would
Improve my chances at my career oriented goals;

I have thought the making of it out
And it is not going to be as professional a finish
But for the engine, I will cut a strip from a log of wood
And then make the 2 cars from squares available in the market;

These also I have to cut and glue
And for the wheels, I have to cut thick circles from a bough
But it is rotational motion that makes a train run on the tracks
And the circular motion along the centre point of rotation
And hence, I shall screw into holes made on the wheels
Screws to keep the wheels on the engine and 2 cars;

I shall add a little trick here and a little aside there
And also paint a maple leaf on the face of the engine
This shall represent PM Justin Trudeau's locomotive breath
His contribution to engineering and science AND medicine and science;

If under PM Stephen Harper, there was the silence of the labs
As the documentary which my husband spoke about, portrayed
For research suffered a setback
It has, as reports from newspapers indicate, enjoyed progressive advancement;
However, despite PM Trudeau's promises for the furtherance of my goals
Publication of my selected works on CBC TV and the PM's website in arts and literature
And payment for all of these honours
I am yet to see an acknowledgement of my excellent work in chemical reaction engineering
In which I have written 3 special papers and also proved in 3 ways that climate change is an existent threat
Unless greenhouse gas emissions are cut and outlined a researched biochemical process
To make water, the elixir of life;

But this may be because I have not worked for a living for 15 years
And my academic record which is simply laudable is on the shelf
And my really good references are outdated
And I have several other ideas which I have published on Linked In and Facebook and PoemHunter
And some of them have proof
Written out as comprehensive papers;

But if he were to flex his Canada arm and take a locomotive breath
In the direction of my said work and Live Streamed Science Talks and
I say: "Take a chance on me" for if you take a locomotive breath
I shall prove Newton's Second Law of Rotational Motion
By causing movement with the external torque and angular acceleration
And the personal train shall go forward.

Acknowledgements:
1. Google
2. Jethro Tull
3. Ontario Science Centre
4. ABBA
5. HyperPhysics Concepts