Circadian Rhapsody

Lyrics

[Intro]

[Verse 1]
In the dim glow of Brandeis lab, 1984,
you sit there, old incubator, humming at 25 degrees Celsius.
Your steady vibration, a lullaby for Drosophila melanogaster,
tiny wings fluttering in red light shadows.
Jeffrey C. Hall scribbles in his worn notebook,
Michael Rosbash checks the timer at 2 AM,
the nadir of our rhythms, when genes awaken.
You cradle the PERIOD gene, that molecular clock,
ticking through feedback loops, restoring rhythm to the arrhythmic.

[Chorus]
Oh, incubator, my constant companion,
you teach me resilience in the quiet hours.
Like sand leaking from Dalí's cracked hourglass,
time bends in your warmth, rebuilding what chaos breaks.
Circadian rhapsody, in your hum I find the spark,
dopamine at dawn, serenity in the cycle's arc.

[Verse 2]
Smell of overripe bananas clings to your vents,
ethanol sterile, mixed with musty fly cultures.
Cold coffee cups litter the bench, 3 AM chill on metal stools.
You vibrate through fatigue, echoing the body's relentless tick.
Hall and Rosbash, stumbling upon the clock,
males singing wing vibrations at dusk, courtship in rhythm.
Unnamed assistants, their overnight shifts forgotten,
yet you remember, holding the data points in your steady heat.

[Bridge]
What if I sync to you, incubator?
Reset my mental fog, align with the infinite playground of neurons.
From polyvagal dreams to this cyclical rhapsody,
your hum a blueprint for the architect within.

[Verse 3]
In your chamber, temperatures controlled, 22 to 25,
contrasting the 10-degree night outside.
You mimic natural conditions, birthing discoveries,
molecular mechanisms that bind us to the sun's rise.
Nobel in 2017, but it started here, with you,
integral to biology, not just a timer, but life's pulse.

[Outro]
Humming incubator, guide me through the ring of fear,
to active serenity, where resilience blooms anew.