Poetry
A collection of my own poetic works
Here are few of my favorite poems... Some are simply about aspects of my life that piqued my interest and others demonstrate my love for nature. These latter poems fall under the category of Ecopoetry and allow me to express the value of the world around me and how it is threatened by various anthropogenic and natural factors. These poems are simply another version of scientific communication that might be more approachable to a broader audience while also infusing the work I do in the lab with the beauty and intricacies of life. Science and art are not distant fields, rather they intertwined and compliment each other.
🌿
Ecopoetry
Zeltnera Venusta
One of the many flora species
of San Diego, forgotten
and understudied.
What is your importance
in the ecology of it all?
Corolla painted magenta,
radially centered a fresh
spot of white – like the
bright sun amongst a
pink sky.
Standing proudly are
your spiraled anthers.
Twisting and turning
like a horn shell
washed up on the beach.
The world you know
is changing rapidly.
Like the fervent current
continuously shapes the
curves of hardened rock.
How will you adapt?
How will you survive?
How will future generations
get to see your beauty
in the way I have?
Karma Terlik
April, 2024
---
This was written about the first species I was interested in doing pollination ecology research on, but it is extremely difficult to cultivate and grow outside of the field. I hope to continue working towards finding ways to grow Zeltnera venusta as I would like to work with it in the future.
One of the many flora species
of San Diego, forgotten
and understudied.
What is your importance
in the ecology of it all?
Corolla painted magenta,
radially centered a fresh
spot of white – like the
bright sun amongst a
pink sky.
Standing proudly are
your spiraled anthers.
Twisting and turning
like a horn shell
washed up on the beach.
The world you know
is changing rapidly.
Like the fervent current
continuously shapes the
curves of hardened rock.
How will you adapt?
How will you survive?
How will future generations
get to see your beauty
in the way I have?
Karma Terlik
April, 2024
---
This was written about the first species I was interested in doing pollination ecology research on, but it is extremely difficult to cultivate and grow outside of the field. I hope to continue working towards finding ways to grow Zeltnera venusta as I would like to work with it in the future.
What You’re Missing
Do you ever take three minutes out of your day to sit quietly?
Do you ever take three minutes to wait as the glowing, sun
makes the journey below the horizon,
an unknown realm where the star sleeps at night,
and waits to shine again?
Do you ever see the way the clouds are painted
in her colored beams of light,
shades of pink, orange, and yellow?
And do you ever see the shift in the sky,
becoming bluer, deeper, and darker
as it mourns the loss of bright?
Or has your attention span,
for life, for beauty, for peace,
disappeared?
Karma Terlik
May, 2024
Do you ever take three minutes out of your day to sit quietly?
Do you ever take three minutes to wait as the glowing, sun
makes the journey below the horizon,
an unknown realm where the star sleeps at night,
and waits to shine again?
Do you ever see the way the clouds are painted
in her colored beams of light,
shades of pink, orange, and yellow?
And do you ever see the shift in the sky,
becoming bluer, deeper, and darker
as it mourns the loss of bright?
Or has your attention span,
for life, for beauty, for peace,
disappeared?
Karma Terlik
May, 2024
Honey Bee
The first beams of light lull the drowsy honey bee
from the buzzing hive that holds his queen.
He already knows his task, his duty to her,
and begins the hunt for pollen and delicious nectar.
The lavender stems sway in the wind, leaving a trail of sweet,
the poppies petals dance bright red in his vision,
and the snapdragon flowers offer rain cover.
Once his tummy is full and body heavy,
from tiredness and a dusting of yellow,
he journeys home to his queen,
where he will sleep peacefully
knowing he has fulfilled his role in it all.
No one has ever told him what to do, yet his life is routine
and he has always known what to do, where to go.
I wish I could have held onto a little piece of that instinct.
So I wasn’t so lost and I just knew what to do.
Why don't I trust myself to decide where to go?
Why don’t I know what to do?
Karma Terlik
May, 2024
The first beams of light lull the drowsy honey bee
from the buzzing hive that holds his queen.
He already knows his task, his duty to her,
and begins the hunt for pollen and delicious nectar.
The lavender stems sway in the wind, leaving a trail of sweet,
the poppies petals dance bright red in his vision,
and the snapdragon flowers offer rain cover.
Once his tummy is full and body heavy,
from tiredness and a dusting of yellow,
he journeys home to his queen,
where he will sleep peacefully
knowing he has fulfilled his role in it all.
No one has ever told him what to do, yet his life is routine
and he has always known what to do, where to go.
I wish I could have held onto a little piece of that instinct.
So I wasn’t so lost and I just knew what to do.
Why don't I trust myself to decide where to go?
Why don’t I know what to do?
Karma Terlik
May, 2024
Flora Choir
Have you ever heard anything more
beautiful than flowers singing?
Morning glories humming a tune
to lure the sun from her sleep.
Lily of the valleys ring like bells
as the wind makes them twinkle.
Tulips with their bowl of petals
echo and harmonize with each other.
Snapdragons standing so tall
roaring with pride.
Baby’s breaths whispering a tune
to all their neighbors.
Daisies as pure and sweet as a baby
sing a lullaby to the moon.
Do you think that everything
has its own song?
And that we can only hear
if we open our ears to listen?
Karma Terlik
May, 2024
Have you ever heard anything more
beautiful than flowers singing?
Morning glories humming a tune
to lure the sun from her sleep.
Lily of the valleys ring like bells
as the wind makes them twinkle.
Tulips with their bowl of petals
echo and harmonize with each other.
Snapdragons standing so tall
roaring with pride.
Baby’s breaths whispering a tune
to all their neighbors.
Daisies as pure and sweet as a baby
sing a lullaby to the moon.
Do you think that everything
has its own song?
And that we can only hear
if we open our ears to listen?
Karma Terlik
May, 2024
🌿
Other Works
Too Sweet
If you were to ask me, “What makes life sweet?”
I'd say the color orange,
Like the citrus fruit hanging low among the leaves,
That I picked heavy, and ripe just today.
Like the light of the sun that rises me from bed,
And casts my room in an amber glow.
I’d say eating breakfast with my mother aglow
Biting into a strawberry bursting with sweetness
That I picked that morning from the garden beds.
On the table, a green cutting board topped with sliced oranges,
Cut by my dad, who would do it for us any day,
Sitting in our yard with trellises of jasmine flowers and leaves.
I'd say lying beneath a tree as the wind rattles the leaves,
The light upon my skin leaving me with a sun-kissed glow,
And I’m reminded how much I love these warm spring days.
My friends lay with me, giggling, and I think “How sweet!”
If only we could lay forever on this blanket checkered orange,
With cheeks pulled tight and eyes shut, I laid my head to bed.
I’d say when I hear, “Is there room for me on your bed?”
My mom curls up next to me and all my worries leave,
Her fingers mindlessly twirling her hair colored orange.
Together we read our books under lamp glow,
Until her eyelids are heavy, she kisses my forehead sweet
And we retire to sleep, ready to greet a new day
I’d say slow afternoons with a cup of Earl Gray, refresh today,
A burst of caffeine might keep me from craving a nap in bed,
With a dash of milk and side of shortbread that's not too sweet.
Outside the bluebirds sing their praise in the tree leaves,
Oh, how they love to see the brilliant sky with the sun aglow,
And it reminds them of summer, of joy, of fresh oranges.
I’d say roasting a marshmallow on a campfire burning orange,
Hiking in the forest along forgotten trails all day.
Sleeping in a tent under the stars and the moon’s casted glow
The crickets outside chirp a lullaby that lulls me to bed.
The cool summer breeze makes me never want to leave,
and the taste of joy lingers, my mouth sweet.
There are so many things that make life sweet.
Just open your heart and listen to the leaves,
It's these small moments that put this question to bed.
Karma Terlik
April, 2024
If you were to ask me, “What makes life sweet?”
I'd say the color orange,
Like the citrus fruit hanging low among the leaves,
That I picked heavy, and ripe just today.
Like the light of the sun that rises me from bed,
And casts my room in an amber glow.
I’d say eating breakfast with my mother aglow
Biting into a strawberry bursting with sweetness
That I picked that morning from the garden beds.
On the table, a green cutting board topped with sliced oranges,
Cut by my dad, who would do it for us any day,
Sitting in our yard with trellises of jasmine flowers and leaves.
I'd say lying beneath a tree as the wind rattles the leaves,
The light upon my skin leaving me with a sun-kissed glow,
And I’m reminded how much I love these warm spring days.
My friends lay with me, giggling, and I think “How sweet!”
If only we could lay forever on this blanket checkered orange,
With cheeks pulled tight and eyes shut, I laid my head to bed.
I’d say when I hear, “Is there room for me on your bed?”
My mom curls up next to me and all my worries leave,
Her fingers mindlessly twirling her hair colored orange.
Together we read our books under lamp glow,
Until her eyelids are heavy, she kisses my forehead sweet
And we retire to sleep, ready to greet a new day
I’d say slow afternoons with a cup of Earl Gray, refresh today,
A burst of caffeine might keep me from craving a nap in bed,
With a dash of milk and side of shortbread that's not too sweet.
Outside the bluebirds sing their praise in the tree leaves,
Oh, how they love to see the brilliant sky with the sun aglow,
And it reminds them of summer, of joy, of fresh oranges.
I’d say roasting a marshmallow on a campfire burning orange,
Hiking in the forest along forgotten trails all day.
Sleeping in a tent under the stars and the moon’s casted glow
The crickets outside chirp a lullaby that lulls me to bed.
The cool summer breeze makes me never want to leave,
and the taste of joy lingers, my mouth sweet.
There are so many things that make life sweet.
Just open your heart and listen to the leaves,
It's these small moments that put this question to bed.
Karma Terlik
April, 2024
Rose Bush
To make a rose bush reach its full potential,
to be fuller, brighter, and more beautiful,
you have to prune it.
Take your sheers, so sharp
they slice flesh like crisp air,
and find a node along the branches,
like braille beneath your fingertips,
and just below,
go snip, snip, snip.
From this cut, the bush does not bleed,
rather, it sprouts more and more buds.
Filling the void with new life.
Where there once was one,
there are now three.
Three velvety crimson roses,
soft like the baby fuzz on a peach,
deep like the endless reflection in a pool,
singing praises of beauty.
But when we get cut,
we let it scar over,
a reminder of the past.
Should we not let the blood
gently flow into red,
red roses?
Each cut a promise of future,
a place for new beginnings?
Karma Terlik
May, 2024
To make a rose bush reach its full potential,
to be fuller, brighter, and more beautiful,
you have to prune it.
Take your sheers, so sharp
they slice flesh like crisp air,
and find a node along the branches,
like braille beneath your fingertips,
and just below,
go snip, snip, snip.
From this cut, the bush does not bleed,
rather, it sprouts more and more buds.
Filling the void with new life.
Where there once was one,
there are now three.
Three velvety crimson roses,
soft like the baby fuzz on a peach,
deep like the endless reflection in a pool,
singing praises of beauty.
But when we get cut,
we let it scar over,
a reminder of the past.
Should we not let the blood
gently flow into red,
red roses?
Each cut a promise of future,
a place for new beginnings?
Karma Terlik
May, 2024
Embers
Two twinned flames
Spark towards the sky
A dance as
Old as time
Two butterflies
On a summer's day
Karma Terlik
June, 2024
Two twinned flames
Spark towards the sky
A dance as
Old as time
Two butterflies
On a summer's day
Karma Terlik
June, 2024
Lemonade For One
A recipe for lemonade
Isn't something you need to look up
As you already know it by heart
All you need is
One fresh lemon of bright yellow
Peely flesh bursting with juice
Rolled on a sturdy counter
As zesty citrus air fills your nose
Sliced into halves with a knife
Carefully easing unwanted seeds
From the glimmering flesh
Squeezing over a crystal glass
Sugar from the pantry with grains that
Sparkle and gleam as the sunlight shines
A promise of sweetness generously poured
Endlessly stirred and topped with clear water
Both liquid and frozen
Straw dizzy from spinning
Around and around
Garnished with a sour golden slice
And a parched throat.
Karma Terlik
July, 2024
A recipe for lemonade
Isn't something you need to look up
As you already know it by heart
All you need is
One fresh lemon of bright yellow
Peely flesh bursting with juice
Rolled on a sturdy counter
As zesty citrus air fills your nose
Sliced into halves with a knife
Carefully easing unwanted seeds
From the glimmering flesh
Squeezing over a crystal glass
Sugar from the pantry with grains that
Sparkle and gleam as the sunlight shines
A promise of sweetness generously poured
Endlessly stirred and topped with clear water
Both liquid and frozen
Straw dizzy from spinning
Around and around
Garnished with a sour golden slice
And a parched throat.
Karma Terlik
July, 2024
Contentedness
Have you ever
known anything
more content
with life
than a cat
who spends their
days
looking for
patches of sun
suitable
for a nap
and sits
to look out
the window
patiently
watching
the birds
come and go
causing an
echo
of their chirps
and the mice
try and
hide
but they
are no match
for a cat
brimming with
pride
of a hunter
with a mouse
under its
paw
that gets to
share the
warmth
of a bed
every night
or have you
not yet
had the joy
of knowing
my cat?
Karma Terlik
May, 2024
Have you ever
known anything
more content
with life
than a cat
who spends their
days
looking for
patches of sun
suitable
for a nap
and sits
to look out
the window
patiently
watching
the birds
come and go
causing an
echo
of their chirps
and the mice
try and
hide
but they
are no match
for a cat
brimming with
pride
of a hunter
with a mouse
under its
paw
that gets to
share the
warmth
of a bed
every night
or have you
not yet
had the joy
of knowing
my cat?
Karma Terlik
May, 2024
I would like to say a huge thank you to my poetry professor Deniz Perin-Coombs as she was the one who introduced me to the wonders of poetry and someone who continues to show endless support towards me, my goals, and my dreams.
