Hexagonal
crystal structure
silver fox of the table
unstable
Wavering in amongst
the cooling red giants
showing off stellar
nucleosynthesis
traces of Tc dredged up
revealed to us in the spectrum
shimmering
First element produced synthetically
(found rarely inside the earth)
Squeezed in between molybdenum
and ruthenium
lowest-number
of all radioactive
isotopes
separated from its kin
alone
Mendeleev knew
this transition metal
should be in the periodic gap
could feel it in his bones
(no mark of it in our bodies)
a group seven maverick
fierce to its core
uncompromising
Tc-99m in its lineage
a metastable nuclear isomer
used for medical imaging
gamma ray emissions
bonding with cancer cells
(highlighting possible damage of the heart)
scanning brain, lungs, intestines, blood
its short-lived, half-life of six hours
enough to do the trick
vital
spent nuclear fuel rods
glowing with all our possible futures