Geneticist as driver, down the gene
codes in, let's say, a topless coupe
and you keep expecting bends […]
In this opening stanza, the narrator begins to establish the metaphor that he will use throughout the remainder of the poem. The narrator likens geneticists to a car driver, leading and mapping the way through the unfamiliar terrain that is the human genome. The “bends” that the narrator refers to are likely representative of the struggles and difficulties the geneticists will face in their attempts to successfully map the human genome. In short, this stanza is important, as it establishes the metaphor that the narrator will use throughout the remainder of the poem.
Somewhere out there are remnants
of our evolution, genes for how
to fly south, sense a storm,
hunt at night, how to harden
your flesh into hide or scales.
Here, the narrator explores the secrets and instincts that are buried deep within our genetic code—our genome. Among these evolutionary instincts, the narrator concludes, must be the same type of instincts that encourage birds to migrate south; that allow animals to sense a storm; that allow animals to adapt to have scales instead of flesh. The narrator uses this quotation to highlight the importance of successfully mapping the genome. He or she wants their readers to understand why the geneticists’ work is essential and very important.
If this is a fracture across time and place,
where past and future hold each other’s gaze [...]
In this opening couplet, the narrator describes the strange twilight zone that is midnight. He suggests that midnight is a transitionary time, perfectly in the present—neither past nor future. The narrator suggests that midnight at New Year’s Eve transcends time and place and that all the world stands still for this brief moment. In this way, the narrator uses these opening lines to establish the beauty and magic of midnight at New Year’s Eve.
Far from a cheap trick, this city-wide hiatus,
the cost per minute is prohibitive.
We barely linger in this midnight space
before words rush back, before kiss meets kiss.
During these closing stanzas, it is assumed that midnight has passed or is just about to pass and that time will return to normal speed. The narrator describes this minute—during midnight on New Year’s Eve—as a city-wide hiatus, during which the city and all its inhabitants are momentarily frozen in time, in this strange moment where the entire country transitions from one year to another. The narrator wants to ensure that his readers understand that this is not some cheap trick but is rather a miracle of existence and should therefore be treasured. After this fleeting transitionary moment has passed, however, all the world will return to its hustle and bustle.
