Teeth

Impressed upon

My senses

Narrow notions

Somehow innate

John Locke says

Once I was

A blank slate

We know now

This to be false

But I like

The idea

Clean wax tablet

On carving’s cusp

Ready to

Take note

New words

Kind touches

Building a cosmos

Founded upon

Sensation and reflection

Making sense of

Everything perceived

A gift I am

Ready to accept

Knowing for a

While now

This brain is

Wired differently

First I reflect

Then I feel

Learning science’s

Language

Like the infant

I once was

Only now do I see

Growth gained

Brain chugging

Digesting statistics

Painfully absorbed

Akin to

Eating liver

Nourishing, but

Absolutely awful

The Greeks believed

This organ served

As the seat

Of the soul

Passion, feeling

Iron enriched blood

Pulsing into

Head, heart

Waning anemia

Yields to

Reason, wisdom

So soft, one

Such as I

Finding confidence

Strength and courage

Performing experiments

Citing research

My only

Innate function

Not learned

But built-in

Desire to live

Thrive within

Constraints of

Mortal span

I will construct

A palace of

Mirrors

Reflecting all

Visages, expressions

Anchored by

These years of

University

Never once

Taken for granted

Every class

Earned through

Determined will

Tenacious teeth

Tearing into

Tough tissue

See my foundation

No longer rickety

With ignorance, fear

Solidly settled

Stone blocks

Of a life

Being lived

To the max