Mckenzy Wall ’22 interweaves the nuances of science into poetic structure, reflecting on the inner workings of the mind and brain.
The human brain discovered itself:
found out that it is the reason we are alive
That it is the reason we can think,
that it is why we are human.
One might think the brain a narcissist
Who is it to name itself, call itself the most vital organ?
But it is the brain that keeps us breathing
moves our legs and drives our curiosities.
When insomnia hits
and we lie awake in the dead night
Eyes that should be heavy still open wide
to let our most nagging ideas sink in.
On the ceiling we so languidly stare at
dance images of unrealized dreams,
grim regrets, and our greatest desires.
Likewise, our neurons dance;
a series of bright lights inside our heads.
As signal is passed from neuron to neuron.
small fires ignite within grey matter.
What has kept me up many nights
is the one question:
Why
are we able to think so deeply and
communicate with such intricacy of language?
What separates us from the other species inhabiting this planet?
It seems to me that it is our mind
that allows us to be the way we are —
The brain is the blueprint
that gives us the ability to act as we do.
But it is what we load our brains with
that shapes the mind.
Art, music, dance,
books, adventures, laughter,
love, and pain are few of the billions of stimuli
that make us, us.
The mind, forever outreaching into space and time,
looks beyond a healthy physical state
into what brings it true bliss
What fulfills it wholly.
It searches for the very things
that make this life worth living
And upon finding them,
knows it has achieved its purpose.
Image Source: https://medium.com/the-mission/top-5-daily-habits-that-wire-your-mind-for-success-ec8ac5b4adf0