THE CELL from SELF-PORTRAITS AT THE HEALTH MUSEUM

Every misconception, foolish
wish, and memory of the sea
begins here, inside a membrane-
bound sac of cytoplasm, where
endoplasmic reticulum forms
channels studded with beads.
The nucleus, round and yellow
as a grapefruit on the display,
is filled with helical DNA
encoding all the faults I got
from my parents - insomnia,
fear of water and elevators,
obsession with details, vanity.
Mitochondria spew out ATP
as proteins grow and fold,
following orders from RNA.
This is the machinery of
the soul, where love arises
as a series of electrical signals
mediated by ions traversing
the membrane, and sometimes
small epiphanies break free.

-Lucille Lang Day

2023
Ariel Rubinstein

Plate from Berkeley Poetry Walk

More details can be found here Click for the item in The ultimate street signs site