I hope this will be a good educational poem to link to the subject of how our genes make us the person we are. If there are any scientists out there, please correct anything I may have written which could be wrong in any way.
Behind the lines, that nature gives,
Which tell of years gone by,
, I see my family features in
My mouth, my smile, my eyes.
My mother’s died, my father too
My aunts? Yes, they have gone.
Yet through the features on my face
I remember them, each one.
My ancestors, though simple folk –
Not one a king or queen –
Passed on to me their special gifts
In the form of my own genes.
Each person carries his own set -
Which determine looks and health.
Your parents passed theirs on to you -
They arrived with guile and stealth.
It’s your genes that send out messages
Telling blood cells what to do.
And they, in turn, each played a part
And helped you as you grew.
The way you look, the way you move,
Your stature, your physique –
Were made this way by your own genes
And you are quite unique.
So whatever else your parents did
To help you grow up strong.
You can thank them for these special gifts
Which work for you lifelong.
Copyright 2008
www.whiteheadm.co.uk|
Written by Robru (219 comments posted) 15th July 2008 |
Okay Josie, I really like this one. It has rhythm, flow, rhyme and tells a story. It is well constructed and easily understandable.
First class.
Cheers.
Bob | Splendid, Josie!
Written by Katanga (1217 comments posted) 15th July 2008 | Very well constructed and expressed, with some great rhymes e.g. unique physique!
Small niggle - I feel slightly uncomfortable with the rhyming repetition of the word 'one' in stanza two. I did a similar thing in one of mine repeating 'me' (although you liked the lines) and feel it needs changing.
Sorry! Anyway, much enjoyed - and what a great photo!
Cheers!
John |
Written by Josie (2785 comments posted) 15th July 2008 | | Thank you, both of you. Thanks for noticing that John. Tell me if the change is better. Gone doesn't rhyme exactly with one, but I'd say about 95% I think. ha ha. I suppose that we look for ourselves in our children. Perhaps we hope we'll bond more if we see our own features in them. It's awful when each grandma/grandfather says: "He's so like So and So in the family" - but perhaps the baby, having a bit of each person, may resemble them. However, isn't it strange how, as we grow and change over the years, our resemblance sometimes looks more like one side of the family than the other, but this can change. I always looked like my father, but now, with my hair going white, I definitely look like my mother. What do the rest of you think about genes? | Great, Josie!
Written by Katanga (1217 comments posted) 15th July 2008 | Yes, I personally think this change fixes my niggle - other views welcome!
People say I look like my mother, which suits me, since people also said my father looked like an ape! Ha! Ha!
All my immediate family have one eyebrow in which the hairs grow vertically rather than sideways, just for half an inch in the middle by the nose.
Strange things, genes!
A common belief is that genetically inherited features often 'skip a generation'. I wonder how true that is and why that should be the case, if it is?
Would love to see views on this!
Cheers!
John |
Written by Bottleblondesurfer (3351 comments posted) 15th July 2008 | I don't read poetry for educational purposes, but I certainly found this one thought provoking, which was far more satisfying. I like what you have said here. It makes me realise that we continue to carry our parents with us in some way. Their genetic structure has been passed onto us.
It's funny; when I was young I was embarrassed to be told I was like my mother but as I got older I was pleased to hear it and now I'm proud to be like her.
For me this provoked questions rather than answers which is much more stimulating.
Well done
jane
|
Written by Josie (2785 comments posted) 15th July 2008 | | There are many interesting articles well worth reading and here is one of many: http://www.vvv.com/HealthNews/genes.htm It pays you to think of health problems that members of your family have suffered and be prepared. There has been a lot of cancer in our family, and therefore my brother/cousins and I, have regular health checks. My father had diabetes at my age, and I have just asked for a blood test. I am a hair's breadth from the same, but, just in time I'm changing my diet, losing weight and doing the right things to stave it off. (Fingers crossed too). Eating the right foods (containing dietary antioxidants and vitamins) can help repair damaged genes and keeping off too much alcohol and cigarettes too, and fatty foods. This poem, I hope, will stimulate discussion with young people. Thank you Jane for your review. |
Written by Veronica_Milvus (626 comments posted) 15th July 2008 | Nice one Josie. The only thing more likely to get me annoyed than being told I'm like my mother is being told I'm getting more like one of my aunties... heaven forbid!
Strictly speaking it isn't just the blood cells that respond to DNA (red blood cells in fact tend to lose their DNA early in their lives in order to carry more oxygen...) but in general, all of our body cells contain DNA, and all of them manufacture proteins in response to DNA being switched on and off in a carefully orchestrated pattern.
It's clever stuff. How do we do it without knowing? | Thanks Veronica
Written by Josie (2785 comments posted) 15th July 2008 | | Thanks Veronica. Isn't the main job of the genes to send messages via the bloodcells Veronica? I'm not an expert, but I hope what I have put in this poem is correct. I'm happy to be corrected if necessary. Thanks. |
Written by 1211kellie (165 comments posted) 15th July 2008 | Excellent poem, well constructed and good rhythm. I am always taken aback when just for a split second, I see other members of my family in the faces and actions of my two children.
Enjoyed
Kellie  |
Written by Josie (2785 comments posted) 15th July 2008 | | Thanks Kellie. Yes, it is the same with my grandchildren. One is like my brother and my granddaughter is like her other grandmother. |
Written by Veronica_Milvus (626 comments posted) 16th July 2008 | No special involvement of the blood cells, Josie. Every cell of our body, skin, muscle, bone, heart, whatever, comes ready made containing our full complement of genes as DNA. Only certain portions of this are ever "switched on" in any one cell.
It's like every theatre being given a copy of the complete works of Shakespeare when it is built, but in some theatres they only ever perform Act One of Hamlet, and in others, they only ever read the 29th sonnet... |
Written by mia_ms_kim (1017 comments posted) 16th July 2008 | You made me think, Josie. A friend of mine argues nature against nurture, that who are are, are far more predetermined than we'd like to believe. When none of us has a choice in being born, or who are parents are, or where we grow up, or who makes up our genetics, therefore our race, looks, temperament, IQ, EQ, predispositions etc etc - how much "choice" do we actually have that's not already pre-programmed in? That friend of mine is rather cynical.
As I get older, I recognise my parents in me more and more. (I'm not sure that's a good thing!) When I see my parents or parents-in-law in my child, I think about how much of my ancestors are also in me! I just hope I don't have too many sinister characters in my bloodline!
Mia |
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