The Love Calls Of Cells

Janis Anne Rader

when we love each other
do our cells mate as vociferously as our bodies
or is there a quiet exchange of molecules, ions, 
the whole linguistic shebang,
are we conductors of a strange music, 
a silent embedded symphony 
a chorus of pulse, 
or merely vectors of the waves
  of the lowly amoeba
the gnat
the weeds that choke our paradisal gardens,
if we take our microscopes inward, 
toward the swarm of atomic particles 
will we see the miracles unfold
a single kiss unleashing a dazzling cascade
of signals inside and under our skin, 
burrowing into the heart of cells, 
the nuclei, the organelles, their songs and language,
plumbing the depths 
and heights of primordial existence,
vibrational lives within lives 
brimming with possibility.
The love calls of cells, 
unwritten, unspoken, 
unheard, except when converted to sound
(even a high-pitched scream) 
invisible to the naked eye
moving us inexorably toward the light.

The Science

It has been discovered that cells communicate via soundwaves. The study of the sounds of a cell is called sonocytology. This poem was inspired by this new research. Scientists have recently discovered that human cells can resonate with rates of vibration matching their natural frequency that cause the cells to vibrate with a larger amplitude. Such vibrations are barely audible, but scientists have amplified them with an atomic force microscope (AFM) allowing the human ear to hear them (they sound like squeals). Thus, the ‘love calls’ of our cells are not silent. They communicate in a rich vibrational, chemical language no less expressive than human language. Such energetic vibrations are a universal language which influences and echoes our human language.

The Poet

Janis Anne Rader is an American poet who resides in Northern California in the United States. She is also an accomplished musician. Her poems, ‘Petrichor’ and ‘Lines of Extension’ have been published by Consilience, and are Editor’s Picks. Ms. Rader reads these poems on the Consilience Journal’s Soundcloud site. ‘Lines of Extension’ was longlisted for the 2023 Rhysling Award. Ms. Rader’s poems have also been published by the Marin Poetry Center (‘The Cellist’) and by Syncopation Literary Journal (‘Ocho Kandelikas’, ‘Saraswati Days’, and ‘like honeyed coffee and chocolate’). Find her on Instagram @jarpoems and on X at @NewPortia.

Next poem: tilt test cheerleader by Kristia Vasiloff