The invisible love story between viruses and immunity

Delphine Depierreux

Out of thin air
You landed just right there
Some may doubt you even exist
But trust the scientist
Lenses, lasers, and microscopy
Left no room for conspiracy theory
Your proteins and glycans
Together will let you in
You came in the right outfit
At her surface you can stick
You two are a perfect fit!

The shape of her receptor
Brings you through the door
Soon her lysosomes
Unleash your genome
You make yourself at home
And hijack her ribosomes
You divide and replicate
At the speed of light, you invade
Uncontrollably, exponentially
We are not talking an infinitesimal quantity
Yet how can you be so sneaky?

You played hide-and-seek
Whilst your progeny reached a peak
During this mad race 
You aimed to leave no trace
But time was limited
Before one of yours was detected
Suddenly, immunity was awakened 
Don’t be mistaken
There will be no mercy
Only one can win with glory
Even if you brought your artillery.

One moment you thrive
The other you may die
Your uncontrollable success 
Will unavoidably lead to your death
For the sake of your fitness
You must find a new hostess
And as always, you’ll be the uninvited guest!

Some might see it as a war
For now, surely, you will live from afar 
But you will be remembered
Immunity isn’t totally unconquered
You have left a print in her memory
In response, she changed her biochemistry
So, I’d rather see it as an invisible love story…

The Science

This poem is inspired by the invisible relationship between a virus and the immune response. The poem describes how an invisible guest (a virus) arrives out of nowhere in infinitesimal quantity, makes itself at home, subverts immunity, and divides exponentially. The poem also illustrates how a virus can be studied and seen by scientists through lasers, lenses, and microscopy and how the relationship between a virus and the immune response impacts the host.

The Poet

Delphine is a Belgian virologist and immunologist, currently based in the UK. She has an interest in all things related to science, including poetry! She loves raising awareness of infectious diseases and vaccines through public engagement initiatives.

Next poem: The Space Rock by Naushin Raheema