A thread of tissues takes shape
As I first comprehend the red rock crossed twice
By the fringe-toed lizard at dusk.
A unique chain of cells becomes actual
As I identify the man beneath the white beech
And his influence on the nesting kiwi bird.
A new vein of reactions must arise
With my discovery of the dark star
On the rim of Sirius. A split-second network
Must be brought into being as I find the African
Dung beetle's egg buried in the elephant bolus.
And for each unacknowledged aspect of the purple
Spikenard beside the marsh-elder-to-be, for each unrecognized
Function of the ogre-faced stick spider at dawn,
A potential neuron is absent in the frontal lobe.
Imagine the molecular structure I create
As I contemplate the Galapagos dragon
At the bottom of the ocean stopping his heart
At will, dying for three minutes motionless
In the suck and draw of the sea. Imagine,
When I study his rapid zigzag swagger to the surface,
How a permanent line like silver makes its way
From the inner base of my skull to the top of my head.
And as I look at your face, following the contours
From your forehead to your chin, coming back again
To your eyes, I can almost picture the wide cranial
Web developing as my definite affection
For these particulars.
(Source: Verse & Universe: Poems About Science and Mathematics, Edited by Kurt Brown, 1998)
I have more to say on this topic, but I'll post more later...
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