In the Lab
We begin by laying carpets of rodent cells,
then rest the naïve human life on top.
Look at these heart cells clumped together,
watch how our science makes them dance.
We drop them nutrients once a day
and we divide each new growth
every week. Yes, there are occasional errors:
sporadic bone may grow in heart
but we progress: we can diminish overcrowding
and starvation, all non-productive masses die.
Maureen Jivani’s poems have appeared in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, New Zealand and Australia both online and in print magazines including Frogmore Papers, The Glasgow Review, Magma, nthposition, Orbis, The Rialto, Seam, Smiths Knoll, and The Wolf. Her first full collection of poems, Insensible Heart, is available from Mulfran Press. See’s also been featured at Peony Moon.
