mad science by kelly zen-yie tsai

mad science
by kelly zen-yie tsai

if only artists
were more like
scientists

sharing notes
with each other

in the lab

one poem
in Bed-Stuy

could be replicated
in Humboldt Park
or Long Beach

given: proper conditions
result: same reaction

universal law

if only artists were
more like scientists

we could huddle around
each other’s experiments

glide stethoscopes along
shiny green alien skin

trace its wounded
drop from the sky

jump back in fear

as it leaps off the table
bumps burners and beakers

shakes its tail at the alarms
screaming down its path

if only artists were more
like scientists

we could stand
side by side

in lab coats
and goggles

for the crooked
photo meant
for posterity

not of how
beautiful
we are

or even
so witty
or so wise

but so
industrious
united
fearless

noses pressed
to the task
of dissection

cooking up
noxious
potions

able to crack
the gargantuan
with one touch
of its shell

if only artists
were more
like scientists

we could maybe just
get over ourselves