The placenta is a special place
A disk-like installation
It means “flat cake”
It can’t be faked
Except in Science Fiction.

Derived from not-so special cells
Early in development
It builds a sack
Prevents attack
And handles all procurement.

The chorionic villi too
Have their special purpose
They flesh us out,
And flush us out
Thank God they’re semi-porous!

Bathed in drops of mother’s blood
The villi set the rules
For passing gas
Increasing mass
And grabbing molecules.

Up and down umbilicus
All this stuff is flowing
The baby grows
And never knows

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!