Ode to Flux Week

By Sophie Drew

Adapted from Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky”

‘Twas brilliant, when the golden sun
Did show its face upon the marsh
All set were we to work as one
The heat arising, greenheads harsh

Behold the power of plants, my friend!
CO2 in, oxygen out!
I’ll tell you before poem’s end
What my research is about

We have a chamber, logger, tubing,
Across the marsh these things we heave
We set it up, we get it grooving
And watch, in real time, marsh grass breathe

Full sun, then shade, then darkness too
That’s three light levels for ya
To see how our dear friend responds,
Spartina alterniflora

And why do this? What can we learn?
Seems an odd summer vacation
It’s to find out if these plants just might
Recover from eutrophication

When nitrate’s added in excess
To a system so fine-tuned
The carbon cycle becomes a mess
If we’re not careful, it’s all doomed

‘Twas brilliant, when the golden sun
Did set across the shining creeks
Carbon fluxes, July, done!
Until again, in four short weeks