“This regeneration process also restores the physiological respiratory function of the lungs, which is mediated by amplification of various epithelial progenitor cells and regeneration of the alveolar sacs”
— Dr Bi-Sen Ding, Cornell University
Visitation resumes first with the most ardent
ornithologists. Loony they pierce, stride right on in, primed
by the song of ocular gadgets
to a once-blighted habitat that’s chalked up
its comeback to a mad cheeping action
poker-faced finches
go expensively berserk in
for twins, those part-refurbished casinos
Then as fireweed spreads, archaeologists
unpack, puncturing tedious theories that race
to hypothesised town
for reasonable milk and sachets of revegetation
Intently. Alveoli. And with a quiver
of toothbrushes they’ll catalogue footprints
sketch evidence of campfires, and further their cherries
lit assumptions of civics
Ethics an ecotourist hocks up is next
to assume its diaphragm’s welcome
in zones where squeezing flamingos
is classified. And pinkish, the air
a collapsible shovel
digs mating calls with grins and a crossbow
set to release in folds of waterproof rain
that properly breathes and leaves them breathless
Lastly, front handsprings of condo developers bounce in
casing out the joint, thinning hints, flipping birds
until planting stakes with red flags
appraises this opportunity theirs
like a gymnast nailing her landing
in the Olympic floor exercise. And eventually children
of divorcees with biblical names follow in
downstairs. A new retro cafe named Obadiah’s will appear and trade
in shortbread, baked with an absolute Christload
... of butter
- Kent E MacCarter1
- Cordite Poetry Review, Melbourne, VIC.
- 1. EurekAlert! Lung regeneration closer to reality with new discovery by Weill Cornell Medical College researchers [media release]. 28 Oct 2011. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/nyph-lrc102811.php (accessed Sep 2012).