I'm so excited to have a poem selected for the first issue of Consilience.
Please check out the issue:
Well done to Sam Illingworth and the team!
Here is the poem:
Vinblastine
I’m found in the leaves ofÂ
Madagascar periwinkle
The biosynthesis
factory place surrounding me
adopts the name ‘bright eyes’
My name is Vinblastine
Interrupting cell division,
to retard lymphoma,
is my practical devoteeÂ
Others that I despiseÂ
include bladder cancer,Â
disorders of the brain and lung
Enzymes help to produceÂ
my molecular parents, see!
They fuss and synthesise
Tabersonine terpene,
and a fine indole alkaloid
are my proud precursors
their clever connections are free
Joining up is their prize
I am their drug output
My chemotherapy purpose
Is worth shouting about
My actions speak to the needy
Let your healthy cells rise!