EXPECTATION Gretchen Fletcher Someone's whole universe held for a space of time in a tiny orb - named for Aurora, goddess of dawn, appearing as yellow, white, or rose a small, golden time set apart from the mundane chronology governing the rest of the world, labeled Au on that cold Table atomic no. 79, atomic wt. 196.9665 a sparkling expectation, a promise held so carefully under the heart and at the same time in the heart. found as ore deep in veins of the Earth but in need of refining by extreme heat Never again will the shiny promise be so free of tarnish as it is now, malleable, ductile, and soft, measured in grains, pennyweights, and karats poised just at the point of being realized, and by its very release made somehow less golden. melting point 1064.41 C boiling point 2807.8 C magnetic moment 0.1439 N x m

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