The Noble Elements

He told me it was okay if I did not love him yet

I asked him if he remembered chemistry

Elements - they can change what they are

An element is made

Of electrons and neutrons and protons -

But the number of electrons that orbit the nucleus

Determine what type of element it is

The noble elements are stable

As they have chemically bonded to a point

That no other electrons are needed - it is whole.

If there is an atom with three electrons

Floating near a pair with five electrons,

Immediately the electrons will 'jump' to meet the other

They form an entirely new element of eight.

It is scientifically called 'excited'

My soul is not necessarily looking for that perfection

But I am floating through life

Looking for things to 'excite' me

To change me, elementally

To make my essence more complex as I age

To challenge my current structure

To be more refined, sophisticated, noble

That is what it is called after all,

Once they reach that magic number of eight

That noble element

That’s what I mean when I say

I don’t sense the chemistry between us