Polyvagal Dreams

Lyrics

[Intro]

[Verse 1]
Stephen, in that quiet lab at UNC, nineteen ninety-five,
you sat at nine PM, the air at sixty-eight degrees,
black coffee cooling on the desk, its steam curling like a nerve.
The polygraph machine whirs softly, tracing lines of breath and pulse,
measuring the vagus tone in newborns, their tiny hearts revealing secrets.
You watched the needles dance, Stephen W. Porges, born in forty-five,
discovering how safety cues calm the storm inside.

[Chorus]
Oh, polyvagal dreams, wandering through the branches of the nerve,
from dorsal freeze to ventral warmth, in the lab's sterile glow.
I whisper to the machine, tell me how the body knows,
when to fight, when to connect, in this autonomic flow.
Heart rate variability, your gift to us, Stephen,
a map of resilience drawn in ink and quiet nights.

[Verse 2]
The electrocardiogram cables snake across the table,
like tendrils of the vagus, linking brain to gut.
Antiseptic scent mixes with the metallic hum,
as unnamed assistants calibrate the dials, their hands steady in the dim light.
You pondered the evolutionary heritage, mammals orienting in defense,
that nineteen ninety-five paper, Psychophysiology journal, page three-oh-one.
Infants' rhythms predicting bonds, emotional anchors in the chaos.

[Bridge]
Missing from the record, those graduate shadows,
who logged the data, fueled by late-hour resolve.
Yet here in the dream, the polygraph speaks,
of polyvagal states, safety in connection, danger in isolation.
Stephen, your theory blooms in the cool air,
a strange fact: newborns' hearts foretell the resilient soul.

[Chorus]
Oh, polyvagal dreams, wandering through the branches of the nerve,
from dorsal freeze to ventral warmth, in the lab's sterile glow.
I whisper to the machine, tell me how the body knows,
when to fight, when to connect, in this autonomic flow.
Heart rate variability, your gift to us, Stephen,
a map of resilience drawn in ink and quiet nights.

[Outro]
In the lab at UNC, nineteen ninety-five fades,
but the dreams persist, polyvagal and alive.