For Dana

I need you like I need triple-bonded carbon.
Like I need semi-permeable membranes!
You are the reason I have an immune system
You drive my phagocytes wild!

You make my bones re-calcify!
My ducts open and close at your command.
Neurons fire better when you are near
And serotonin reuptake is once again within accepted norms.

My pupils dilate to let in the light of you.
My nostrils flare involuntarily at your scent.
My tympanic membrane registers your every note.
And I won’t even mention what you do to my galvanic skin response.

I’m patellas over scapulae for you!
The Krebs cycle churns at your demands!
If I could photosynthesize, I'm sure I would.
But it’s not easy being green, so I’m not.

My autonomic nervous system responds to you uncontrollably
My Reticular Activating System spreads the alarm.
Messenger RNA scribes a homologue
And a double helix has your name all over it.

Somewhere, a vacuole is released through exocytosis.
But that's got nothing to do with this.
Seems a waste.

What I'm trying to say is "I love you" with every fiber of my being.

-- May 2004