Temptation
Feiya Zhang (RMIT University, Australia)
With micro fingers, I could cut these germ-lines
And sever the stored memories of your ancestral
Lineage. I could change the essence of you simply
By snipping through your palindromic repeats of
A U G C
There is nothing you can inherit that I cannot change.
No modifications I cannot create. Now do you see
The temptation? I could cut these viruses from your
Cells just as I would cut the tumours from your heart.
You’ll see
And wonder about off-target mutations. You’ll worry
About the unpredictability of manipulation. But I am
Not changing you from water to blood – I am editing
You into something better. From chains of nucleotides
Into a minor god
Feiya currently lives in Melbourne with her twin sister. She is a journalism student, former science graduate and a songwriter. Poetry, parmesan and pastry are some of the things that she likes best.
