SCRABBLE STONE©

SYMPOSIUM

our topic for this evening's symposium:

UNDEFINED

I will be tying the ends of this kerchief around a pencil

an intermission follows

*  *  *

welcome back

we see our philosophy professors have not returned

for you few who remain

watching my parachute slowly descend

we shall appreciate absurdity

half meanings of our lives hidden under tables

sheltered from the usual, usual

now suddenly comes this floating truth

irrelevant?

but following the usual laws of physics

something was missing before

Niagara Falls lapped in a barrel

half an apple buried

in a tomb of garden rocks

not to be exhumed for the casual observer

ah, the appreciation –

of what?

not an apple

not a barrel

not a what

the graceful arc

smothers flower words

BASIC BIRTH AND DEATH

 some revere God and Country

pledge allegiance

some are attuned to Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Happiness

another motto:

Take the Money and Run

(1) a robot may not harm a human

or allow a human to come to harm

(2)  a robot must obey human commands

(3)  let no harm come to a robot

provided this doesn't contradict the first two laws

take your pick:

meat or vegetables?

both?

I rest my case

in fact, as a sovereign individual, these arguments

have no standing

all thrown out of the court of nonentities

sue me

but I will be the judge

to the disdain of believers

instead I persist in drinking water when thirsty

clipping fingernails when they get in the way

the conditions of each moment are unique

I change them by paying attention

life is fun sometimes, but not because I planned that

sometimes painful, ditto

I am alive, whether or not I have a right to be

I AM

my liberty is decided in the moment

happiness comes and goes

whether or not I pursue it

state constitutions are predicated on mine

robots are not concerned with any of this

except perhaps being the judge

and without all the rest how valid are their decisions?

do I contradict myself?

very well, then . . .

were I perfectly consistent

I wouldn't be human

A THOUGHT

IN ONE MAN'S MIND

and a Hiroshima in communications

brought you this message

think of it:

a gardener's thought sent round the world

you readers have sight beyond vision

hear with more than ears

a certain resonance

that escapes the microscope of reason

let's enjoy it

squiggle through sea weed

ignore coral reefs

and admit

at last

another order of reality

here we are

where galaxies and dark matter pass

like strangers through infinity

ah, how freedom rings

two if by land

or something like that

before the final take

madness, is it not?

exactly what is needed

the tide is rising

flutes play a lullaby

Chevron grabs the screen

we are lilted to creek beds

salmon upstream bravely striving

the benzene ring

found in a dream

now fuels a universe inhabited by hoards

neighborhood birds are another order

seen by many

aren't they cute

in our parallel universe

evolved through puffs of smoke, semaphore, telegraph, digital dots and dashes, iris scanners, predictive crime statistics, plastic skin over robotic activators, mathematics of fried snails

a kite has snapped its string

supersedes the evening news

all brought to you

thanks to Hiroshima

HURDY-GURDY

FULL MOON TONIGHT

porcelain sea

awooo!

truth to tell, other than the obvious

gravitational attraction

undertow of poetic opinion

is a dangerous current best avoided

in darkening sky

let it shine

as real as the sun

sentries of our life

all due respect

complex is the rhythm of the day

dancers twirl, raise their arms

a phallic may pole sends down lightning

rain falls

order satisfies the hunter

astrological mysteries move the tide

promising a triumphal parade

necklaces of bright plastic beads

tossed to en eager crowd

the night and the moon

and the promise

of secret knowledge

hands clapping

Lordy, Lordy set me free!

bye, bye Lordy

says me

the moon is quiet

I am not the first to see

with ears that have become eyes

a common transformation little noticed

but one that can be smelled

through elbows

let's just take a trip up there

to that bright object

which has no need of opinion

and bask in its universality

like a bronze butterfly

slowly turning

here

in the arms of a long lost dilemma

where the porcelain sea

might be sleeping