The Malicious Gene
Twisted.
A helix of opportunity
Reservoir of information
Transcender of lifetimes.
Born of division
Multiplier of life
Master of inheritance.
But alas...
I am now damaged, and
Programmable death I oppose.
Every signal I ignore.
You say "Stop," I go.
"No entry," I proceed.
I'm in your space.
In your face.
Rules ...
I do not heed.
From inside the cells
The tables turn, and...
They become my prisoners.
Products of re-design.
Mutating,
I run.
Elusive,
I hide.
I remain...
Alive.
Invading
to survive.
Intent on destruction.
No reduction.
Winning at all costs.
No consciousness of volition.
Against the odds,
Undetected
Until...
Too late.
And the price is always high.
I am damaged...
It's not my fault.
I have no choice.
This is my voice.
I am the malicious gene.
Addendum:
There is a bit of an explanation of the above poem in the comments section below, which may bring more meaning and understanding to the poem and give you an insight into my thoughts as I was writing. For completeness, I will include this here as an addendum of sorts to my poem:
The poem is essentially about the defective gene inside the cell that goes rogue causing havoc in its host through the multiplication of mutated cells and eventual death for the host, and therefore by derivation, also the cells and genes (in this case the defective mutations are those of cancer cells but they could apply to any terminal disease caused by a genetic defect and cell mutation). There is really no intended malice but it is inferred in any event through the actions that occur.
I wanted to tell the 'story' from the perspective of the gene, having no choice, no volition, but just being a part of an unstoppable process. Of course, we know that with modern medicine, the world is slowly but surely coming up with ways to target and combat cancerous cells, but this poem shows the unbridled force of nature of a defective gene and what it can accomplish, if unchecked.
Research credits:
Image by LionFive from Pixabay
