Last year, Melinda and I tutored our kids while we all were in Europe on vacation. We visited museums and historical sites and tried to help them appreciate different cultures. I handled the science tutoring, and one of our topics was the physics of light.

Recently my son Rory made light the subject of a poem he wrote as he’s learning about the different forms of poetry. He’s ten years old and would like to have work published one day. He reads The Gates Notes and asked me to publish his poem on my website. What father could refuse?

Rory’s poem is what’s known as a diamante, a seven-line poem in the shape of a diamond that begins with one thing and gradually transitions to end with sort of its opposite. You can learn about diamante poetry from a fun family activity developed by the folks at Great Schools, a terrific organization that our foundation has helped support.

And so, here’s Rory’s poem:

Credit: Jörn Wilms (Tübingen) et al.; ESA. Online image. High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center. NASA.