Chemiosmosis is not an inspiring word to a poet. Through a long series of administrative confusions and a perceived lack of science credit, I was pushed to take another science class my senior year. I remembered liking biology in freshman year, and I realized that AP Biology would help my understanding of environmental science. Three weeks into the school year, I entered the class, woefully behind in reading and missing labs and assessments. I lived my life from between the pages of Campbell's Biology, 7th edition, and I regretted every moment spent studying metabolic pathways and dynein arms.

But then I came to chemiosmosis, the last process in cellular respiration. I traced the diagram in the book, following the H+ ions across the inner mitochondrial membrane with one finger, pulling the electrons through the proteins within the membrane. Following the electron transport chain, H+ travels across the membrane, forming...

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