March
14
Me, my cells and I: a love poem
matte black curtains are taped tightly
to the windows
the only light allowed here
is the gentle yellow glow
that illuminates the stage
gracefully getting into position
I delicately balance
between thumb and forefinger
a thin disk
carried with a careful reverence
placed gently on the altar
humble sighs aside
my hands rise with an eager authority
it’s time for us two to tango
to practice
perform nay
perfect
our private paso doble
so I spin in my seat to face the machine
green light
go
I fill tiny glass tubes with a cold and clear solution
and mount them to the microscope
next to the bright red bin
of discarded sharps
next to the frosty blue bucket of ice
the leaden metal micro-manipulators
look especially sinister
with wires protruding
every which way
orange faded labels overlooked
I immerse myself in this well
of salt solution and cells
scanning the bottom for her shadow
her shapely cell body catches my eye
and I stop to take her in
her subtle
smooth curves
her lengthy spine
and hazel dyes
tell me she’s
the exciting type
a hungry greed comes over me
my indigo gloves dance furiously
twisting and spinning knobs
in no particular pattern
until the positive pressure gently presses
on the surface of her skin
and once released
she moves in a little closer
now my gut engulfs itself
and I’m nervous
I’ve become attached and
pucker my restless lips
inhale softly
to lay kisses that may
break barriers between us
but
time slows
behind a thin veil her membrane rests
patiently
my own brain on the edge of exploding
and then a burst –
she opens up to me!
and commands my attention
the bright white screen illuminates my face
and my eyes melt into the monitor
as I watch a trace slide across the screen
fancifully dancing its way into my heart
and in spite of a growing pride
I’ve shrunk a few million sizes
to live within her hold
comforted by a silence interrupted
only
by flirty little mini blips
not unlike a timid sonar signal
and while I hate to kiss and run
we are but transient lovers
its time for me to move on.
to seek the next neuron
—
I wrote this poem as part of a UCSD Extension creative writing course, and the assignment was simple: write a color poem. So I wrote about something that I see everyday, which may have been dulled to my eyes, and attempted to infuse some color.
Electrophysiology – or the study of the electrical properties of physiological systems, cells and tissues, etc. – is such an important tool in medicine and science. For instance, we can measure muscle activity using electromyography (EMG), heart activity via electrocardiograms (ECG or EKG), and brain activity through electroencephalography (EEG). The list goes on! But a lot of times we also want to understand how electrical activity is impacted on an even smaller scale, we’re talking individual cells within the brain. Electrophysiology (ephys for short) in neuroscience is the stethoscope we use to measure the cell’s heartbeat, i.e. the flow of electrically charged ions into and out of a single cell. Based on this understanding of ion exchange across a membrane, we can measure the identity and abundance of receptors on the cell surface, ion exchange in response to neurotransmitter stimulation, and the dynamic communication between cells, among a range of other queries. All of this information leads us to a deeper understanding of cell behavior, system interaction, and potentially, disease. To record the electrical activity of these cells, we carefully poke neurons with tiny glass pipets (you can see an awesome gif here!) and this process of delicate probing is the story that this poem aims to tell. While I may have ineptly strayed far from color, I learned a valuable lesson in finding novelty in daily patterns, in appreciating the mundane, and in taking advantage of sticking science puns into poems whenever possible (I count 15?).
Nicole is a Neurosciences graduate student at UCSD who likes to eat, read, write, and sleep.
