Pathogenders by Patricia Hawkhead

microbiology
testing for toxicity
in his smile

by Patricia Hawkhead

I studied microbiology in college many years ago and one of the tests we had to conduct was on the toxicity of compounds in food. In the sciku above, I’m drawing a comparison with the toxicity we seek to isolate in biology and that we wish to isolate and avoid in our everyday lives.

Further reading:

The Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology Group page, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, available: https://ims.ucsc.edu/research/cluster-groups/microbiology-and-environmental-toxicology.html

Author bio:

Patricia Hawkhead’s haikai and poetry have been published in publications including: Asahi Haikuist Network, Blōō Outlier, Bones , Cattails, Cold Moon Journal, dadakuku, Echidna Tracks, Failed Haiku, Five Fleas (itchy poetry), haikuNetra, Poetry Pea, Presence, Prune Juice, Scarlett Dragonfly, Shadow Pond Journal, tsuri-dōrō and Haiku Universe.

You can follow her on X/Twitter at @patricahawkhead