The Wind in the Wet Labs / A Quartet takes Wing

Vijaya Gopal

Bursting from a long slumber, Mole awakes one summer, 
emerging from sandy soil, at the first drop of rain
Scurries below the rocky boulders, 
inching forward, one stitch at a time,
glances at Rat, by the river bank
Perceives the vast terrain - the world’s wide horizon 
Transcribes the length of corridors wide
Surveys errors with no stop

“What held you back, those long years?” 
asks Rat, by the river bank

Unguarded, with great élan Mole trots
Springs forward with renewed verve and energy,
stomping concrete steps with synergy
Connecting dots on the turf, gets beady, unsteady, 
seemingly at the crossroads, encounters Badger 
Questions reins held strong, regaining momentum all along 

Making sense rain or sunshine, impetus for therapy
designing modules incremental, engineering one brick at a time 
Shuttling genes into nuclear gates, with targeted precision
Nuanced nonetheless, the collaboration, all for nanomedicine
Disrupting anatomical barriers, Mole's next oration
Delivering nucleic acids past neuronal gates, modulating rates of gene expression
Silencing modalities thereof, with therapeutic implications
An intervention primarily, to delay disease onset and progression

Generations later

Mindful of existential trepidations looming in the air
Badger, Mole and Rat together cast aside gloom, 
converge with Toad debonair
Paddling oars gently downstream, rowing steadily by twilight
Inking blue prints, linking humanity, 
beneath the overarching Great Bear, far into the night

The Science

Inspired by the The Wind in the Willows, a timeless classic by Kenneth Grahame, ‘The Wind in the Wet Labs’, is a poetic take on Mole’s scientific aspirations after a long hiatus. Associations with laboratory Rat permanently strengthens and gears Mole to embark upon a lifelong adventure, that gradually unfolds excitements in modern biology and emerging trends of gene therapy to treat human diseases, cognizant of the pitfalls. They finally agree that change is only possible through cooperation and inclusive global cohesion, if they must survive. It could be anyone’s story and it is never too late to mediate change for the better. 

The Poet

Vijaya Gopal, a scientist and poet, enjoys reading and reveling in nature. With core expertise in prokaryotic gene transcription and peptide-based nucleic acid delivery technologies developed towards the larger goals of Gene Therapy to the Central Nervous System, her aim through poetry is to create an awareness of scientific concepts, metaphorically, from her lived experiences. She currently works in Hyderabad, India, as an independent science consultant and blogs at ‘Through the lens of a Life Scientist’. 

Next poem: Who shall sing for this child? by Mitt Ann