Purple Ray

One day I came home and I opened my door,
Surprised by a purple alien sitting on my floor.
He was a slimy looking fellow and had a strange smell,
Nor did he have eyes… as far as I could tell.
I walked up to him inquiringly not sure what to say,
Then asked him his name and he simply said, “Ray”
I asked him where he was from and he wasn’t too sure,
Just that he was lonesome and his life was a bore.
So he had slithered into his spaceship early one day,
Got caught in our atmosphere while passing our way.
I peered out my kitchen window and through the bright light-
A spaceship stuck in my yard was a startling sight.
I personally thought he could have landed it better,
When I asked him he said, “It was because of the weather.”
But I told him surely that the weather was fine,
How couldn’t he notice all of that sunshine?
He replied with a frown and said he didn’t know,
Never saw an object that could shine or could glow.
“This light that you speak of I can’t imagine what it could be.
I only create and emit waves like sonar to help me see.”
I wondered to myself how on Earth could I explain it to him?
The chances he would understand were looking quite slim.
“Please?” asked Ray, his voice starting to tremble,
“Are they like waves? What do they resemble?”
Just then, what he said gave me the perfect idea,
If I described light in waves the concept would be clear.
“Light waves are different then sound waves are,
They don’t need a medium to travel too far.
The amplitude of each wave determines how bright
The intensity will be of the given spectrum of light.
Different wavelengths will affect the color you see,
The angle at which it vibrates varies what it will be.
These light waves can vibrate in millions of ways,
When sent through a prism a rainbow displays.
The colors of the rainbow are easy to get,
Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Violet.”
“What color am I?” Ray wondered aloud.
I told him he was purple and he should be proud.

By, Andrea Terese Timpone