“In Case You’re Wondering”

 

The newspaper promises

to put readers’ interest first

while making an impact

on people’s lives.

 

I turn to the Science section.

 

Here’s a study, four years old,

about phytoplankton;

said to release half the world’s oxygen

into the atmosphere.

 

The process requires iron;

the researcher speculates

where that might come from.

 

At the bottom of the page,

mystery solved:

feces of whales

10 million times richer in iron

than the ocean water.

 

I take a deep breath.

 

(Editor’s note: poet Shai Ben-Shalom, an Israeli-born biologist, examines current events in the Blacklock’s tradition each and every Sunday)

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