DIARY OF A CELL

BY JENNIFER GRESHAM

So much is the same:
small, easy to hide
in some cranny of the nucleus
or mitochondria, away from
scientists' prying eyes.
And always written in code;
a whole library of nothing more
than four letters strung together,
a tongue twister even if
you know the language.

Even the stories begin
with the familiar: proteins
saying good-bye at the cusp
of the membrane door, one
getting into his sub-cellular
compact, the other already fussing
in the cytoplasm, devising the next
meal. What's missing is the emotion.
Life, in its most intricate detail,
is beautiful in its routine. No sentiment,
no longing stare out the window.
It's all business here: the details
of their travel, where they are going,
the strange names of streets.

Recommended as "a good read for chemists, biochemists, biologists, science teachers, or indeed anyone who enjoys quality literature."

Full list of poems available for purchase on Amazon.

Short bio: Jennifer Gresham, a biochemist and poet, is a major in the U.S. Air Force and currently serves as a program manager at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Arlington, Va. She holds a BS from the US Air Force Academy and a PhD from the University of Maryland, both in biochemistry.

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Me: We are but a bag of proteins, whose production codes are written from a backbone of sugars.