(all three processes occur spontaneously)
hyperplasia
Multiply and weave in me
a coil to decipher our alleles, our alloys,
wind unwind all the paths until
no more. Spindle the chromosome
to find its axis, breathe enough enough
more enough. Bend identity in the progeny,
identify the symmetry our alloys, our allies.
hypertrophy
Multiply and leave in me
a deciphered coil — signal and cascade
to coda: ribbon of wounds unwound
no more. Spin the sky, our bones long,
and find me, here, breathing now now
this is now, we are here now, we know now.
To identify our synchrony: all plight.
accretion
Multiply our gravity. The body
fluid. Uncoiled cipher: I won’t leave.
Winded and found, flight
no more. Align our
bones to spindle air,
know now our identity more than:
What have we done all our own.
I wrote this poem during my first year as a medical student while learning physiology. I was struck by the concept of human growth mechanisms. I found it fascinating that our organs grow and change in size through such concrete cellular mechanisms. Growth is such a universal and fundamental characteristic to living beings, and I wanted to play with both language and form to contrast a scientific explanation of growth to the emotional growth that occurs when we experience pain or suffering.
Contributing Writer