The Mind Is What The Brain Does – a poem by Kate Rauner

Hey Brain! Get back here.

Receptors iontropic,

Neurotransmitter release,

Epigenics of the brain,

Study shows us these.

Endorphines, oxytocin

And no-re-pin-e-phrine

Is the ink our brain writes with

Along with dopamine.

Words capture what I see and feel,

Words are telepathy

That transfers thoughts from my mind

To you, or yours to me.

Words are ink upon a page,

Or nicks in clay or stone,

Or dits and dahs in cyberspace,

Or air’s vibrating tones.

If that is all that words are

Then I will agree

That chemicals within my brain

Are all there is of me.

Thanks to NPR and Marv Minsky for inspiration. Have you ever said “My mind’s playing tricks on me”? Who are you? And where is this Mind? It’s weird living inside a brain.