God gave all creatures matching brain,
To control movements and be sane;
From misdemeanor, to refrain,
And use it rightly, not in vain!
Housed in a rugged vault called skull,
Brain stays afloat on waters full;
Well-sealed away from human thieves,
The mind cannot be read with ease!
God put both white and grey matter,
And insulated well latter;
Connected neurons by axon,
To aid messages to go on!
Billions of cells has human brain
– The centre for memory and pain;
At times, its functions wax and wane,
And man can sometimes turn insane!
Transmission is by chemicals,
That set forth electric impulse;
And take commands up/down the lane:
With ‘off’ and ‘on’, functions the brain!
The neurons don’t regenerate;
On target cells, they terminate;
With age, most brains degenerate:
‘Seat of wisdom’, in Vertebrate!
The brain has halves called Hemispheres;
Where mind is lodged, emotions, fears,
Cognition, collation, seizures:
Controlling sight, hearing and tears!
In most, the ‘Speech-centre’s’ on left;
That for art, music placed on right;
Cerebella balance each side,
And lesions make gait rather wide!
Some groups of cells called nuclei,
Control reflexes, muscles, eye;
The brain is swathed in triple veil,
And flushed with blood rich, not to fail!
The mirrors of mind – retinae,
Speak of the brain’s state and its lay;
Gyri, sulci cover surface,
And make a person, king of race!
With stopped heart, lungs, a man is dead,
And functionless brain within head;
With gone reflexes, pupils wide
– Man is pronounced to have just died!
The brain-dead man, his organs gives,
And through others, for years, he lives;
Man tries his best to transplant brain;
God thwarts his moves and ’tis in vain!
Just fraction of man’s brain functions!
What marvels lie at their junctions!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 29-01-2013
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Very interesting and informative write. I liked the way you took complex functions of the brain and mind of man and explained them from a human and medical perspective.