This earth we inhabit

Earth we inhabit,
And in resources we're rich,
Yet they are finite.
Let's look after what we've got,
and let us please pollute not.

A day in the lab

Buzzing, whirring, clicking, stirring,
Bottles chinking, bunsens burning.
A laminar breeze flows soft over face,
Hands float in a sweaty sea of latex.

The putrid stench of Agrobacterium
Does for the nostrils that of spice to rectum.
A callous row of mutants in line,
Nutrient jelly under cabinet lights.

A constant tremor from vibrating rubber,
Liquids mixing like whirlpools in tubes.
A mortar and pestle chinks and grinds,
Powdering leaves in clouds of steaming nitrogen.

SDS, Virkon and dry ice sit whistling,
Bubbles burst into a cacophony of twittering.
Whitney Houston blares on the stereo,
White coats splay to How Will I Know.

An appropriate phrase for research in science,
Unsure and sure are concepts intertwined.
The sounds, sights and smells make a hazy environment,
Each day a race against the onrush of time.