I am a poet at heart and a scientist in mind
Therefore I was overjoyed to find
How hearing poetry read aloud changes the brain
Poetry that evokes complex emotions of empathy and pain
Activates a specific brain area- the nucleus accumbens
Leading to feelings of aesthetic pleasure intense
It stimulates the brain in a different way
From the dopamine based reward pathway
That is stimulated in a materialistic world constantly
The brain thus reacts in a unique manner to poetry..
*
Exactly how, I had not been able to explain
But I knew that dabbling in poetry had changed my brain
Made me more empathetic, in dealing with patients for sure
I think for some modern maladies, poetry can provide a partial cure
Passion...unbridled 