Magic Corn

Zea mays everta ain't your average kernel

Its raison d'être crops from heat internal

After 400 degrees of insistent Fahrenheit

It explodes in epiphanies of ballistic flight

.

This poppin' type ain't your average corn

Bein' the only food that cooks itself airborne

Of eupeptic protein, carbs, and fiber, too

Except for your appendix, it's good for you

.

Pressure vised tightly in pounds per inch

One hundred-thirty-five per salted pinch

Water is Lavoirsier'd into steam

Sublimates in an alchemy extreme

.

Served in a bowl that's passed around

In front of the TV, with only the sound

Of handfuls of crunches shoved into mouths

From outside, in, corn turned inside-out

.

Inside each seed is a volatile batter

That rescues taste buds from the daily bitter

And just to make life that so much better

Irregular fluffs shaped for poolin' butter

.

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AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Per https://www.popcorn.org/All-About-Popcorn/From-Seed-to-Snack#:~:text=Its%20scientific%20name%20is%20Zea,known%20as%20hull%20or%20bran).

Popcorn needs heat to pop. Most popcorn will pop when the kernel's internal temperature reaches 400-460 degrees Fahrenheit. Bound within the endosperm or starch is moisture. When the kernel is heated, the moisture turns to steam. Because the pericarp or hull is hard and flinty, pressure builds up within the kernel. The starch inside the kernel becomes soft like gelatin and the moisture vaporizes until the pressure in the kernel reaches 135 pounds per square inch. The pressure increases until the pericarp or hull ruptures and the gelatinized starch granules puff out. The kernel literally turns inside out. The starch or endosperm is the white part of the popped kernel and the pericarp or hull is the darker, flaky bit at the center of the kernel.