Habenula

considering the brain’s habenula that is involved in the regulation of dopamine and serotonin that are strongly associated with anxiety disorders and avoidance behaviors

Could we find a way to pump chump’s habenula
to reduce anxiety but also brain disorder so he can
at least make sense, composing whole sentences
instead of automatically deflecting to his gigantic

golden ballroom that we recently learned will cost
taxpayers a million or so, despite never-ending lies
that he earlier issued forth, a convenient distraction
from the Epstein files, we know.

Habenula plays “…an important role in depression,
stress, memory…” Wikipedia says. A clever brain part
not well-known if but a bit better understood
by scientists. Can we avoid a medical coma

using a laser beam shot from afar targeting
our new brain friend? But if a narrow beam misses
its tiny mark in a pea-sized brain, it might leave him
more starkly deranged, claiming that he avoided the death

of sense restored and empathy gained,
saved therefrom by the grace of God whose son he is.
“Research suggests that lateral habenula may play
a crucial role in decision making.” That. Maybe a bit more?

Ann Grogan is a joyful octogenarian, piano player, and retired lawyer living in San Francisco, CA. Her writing promotes the unequivocal permission to pursue one’s passions at any age. Her poems have appeared in Dissent Voice, Querencia, Amethyst Review, The Prairie Review, New Verse News, and Writers Resist, among others. She was named a semifinalist for The Writing Salon’s 2025 Jane Underwood Poetry Prize and for Leftie Blondie’s chapbook competition. Find her at rhapsodydmb.com. Read other articles by Ann, or visit Ann's website.