Dear Mat,

 

          Welcome to Matthew's World

 

          This is about the only line

          Common to all such baby poems

          I was asked the other night

          Whether I plagiarized my own lines

          Give me a break, Stephen

          Or whether I added too much oil

          Greasy poems?

That MEAN Henry

          (Read carefully)

 

          I was very happy and also sad yesterday

          For at least six reasons

 

          First of all

          My research broke new ground

          I nailed down a ghostly thing

          That eluded me for weeks

          Needless to say

          I was very happy

 

          Second

          I received good news

          About the new good news camp site

          (A tongue twister)

          At Philadelphia's western suburb

          Your daddy and mommy will bring you

          To visit that site

          When you grow a little bigger

          And perhaps even ready to accept the Lord

          Again I was happy

 

          Third

          My high school pal Li Jinping

          Relented his decision of not coming

          Decided to arrive last night and

          Join me and many others

          For a fun-filled weekend camping

          By the third largest lake

          Of Garden State

          I was happy and anxious

          Sadly his family car rolled over

          Midway through their long journey

          Thankfully they survived the wreck

          My heart sank

          But not without thanksgiving

 

          Fourth

          Guess what

          Uncle Henry (Yeah, the same Henry)

          Broke the carefully-guarded news

          Mat Su came three days ago

          I was very very happy

          Admittedly your parents

          Were much happier

 

          Fifth

          Prez Dubya addressed the nation last night

          Allowing Fed's money

          To support limited research on

          Existing embryonic stem cells

          This is a tough choice of the country

          Rarely seen in decades

 

          Talking about stem cell

          A controversial issue

          About life and hope

          We all begin with one fusion cell

          That Daddy and Mommy

          Sweated and toiled to make

          It keeps dividing and multiplying

          Every embryonic stem cell

          Holds the FULL potential

          Of producing every kind of cells

          That makes up our body

          Isn't that amazing?

 

          But this kind of naivete

          Cannot go on and on

          Many will become specialized

          To make tissues and organs

          That you and I rely on for our life

          But a subset still keeps

          Their ages of innocence

          In being fully able

          To replenish the aged

          Tissues and even organs

          Isn't that amazing too?

 

          Scientists are talking about

          Using stem cells as therapy

          For damaged tissues and organs

          But before that happens

          They need to study

          The intricate inner working

          Of how stem cells reprogram

          To become all they can be

          This is certainly an exciting question

 

          But more exciting things are ahead

          Think about a day in the future

          When a child is born

          His or her stem cells from umbilical cord or placenta

          Are saved and frozen in a personalized bank

          Until a need arises

          For tissue and organ repair

          Or perhaps cloned organ transplant

 

          The issue at heart

          Is not if stem cell research

          Is good for mankind

          It is about when life begins

          And whether we have the right

          To create an embryo

          Or to destroy an "unused" embryo

          For the sole purpose

          Of harvesting stem cells for research

          President Bush made it clear

          No more destruction

          No cloning of embryos

 

          Adult stem cells

          Will have no such controversy

          For example

          Stem cells hidden

          Under the fatty tissue

          Are shown to have

          Limited potential of

          Trans-differentiation

          (Becoming some other non-fatty tissues or organs)

 

          But the controversy may go away

          Sooner or later

          When future earthlings

          Will have a personalized

          Bank of stem cells

          No harm is done to any one

          Alright

          Enough is said about this issue

 

          One last reason

          Made me very very sad

          A fanatic set off a suicide bomb

          Killing 15 people in Jerusalem

          Including young children and moms

          Plus a lady from New Jersey

 

          Despite all the carnage in the world

          I am still very glad

          You came safe and sound

          As the first born

          Of your daddy and mommy

          In a land of great peace and tolerance

 

          Cheers

          Matthew

          The first famous Matthew

          Recorded one of the gospels

          He once was a tax collector

          But was called by Jesus

          (The Savior of the world)

          As one of the Twelve

 

          Hope you live up to

          Your namesake

          Become a peacemaker and

          One of the beloved disciples

          Of the Lord of lords

          King of kings

          Who was, is, and is to come

 

          (Composed on Aug.10, 2001)