No Chance

What happens to someone,
Who, no fault of their own,
Can't make enough to pay for rent or food,
Chronically alone,

They've had friends and started life the right way,
With a family and home,
Went to school, stayed clean, and always had work,
Dutifully carried around his phone,

He could have been the next Albert Einstein,
But for when he was born,
An age in which he didn't quite fit in,
When money was the norm,

And nothing else,
Not even sex and drugs,
When every life is measured by gold,
A useless metal - doesn't that suck nugs?

Team Players

Sometimes you are reckless,
Geez, we all have to be,
You cannot connect with other people,
If you refuse to see,

That the deeper you dig into your thoughts,
Hell, even the first one,
You have to admit the vision is yours,
Despite lack of evidential reason,

That is the truth that connects all of us,
For even if you're right,
You can't expect others to change their mind,
If it must match your sight,

That's kind if ass,
Would you hang out with you?
Or would you be so caught up in yourself,
You'd do the exact same thing with you, too?

Mixed Metaphors

Don't mix your metaphors,
You'll say two things at once,
One minute you think you're talking 'bout life,
Like a ball that don't bounce,

Because you've always rolled with the punches,
Despite what people thought,
Serpico trying to live and let live,
Making the man angry he can't be bought,

King of the jungle, pride before a fall,
You think you can be true,
Until you find you're a ball in a maze,
The floor titling's not you,

I stand correct,
It's all saying the same,
Like Hume said, some act the grammarian,
Might as well play the rules and not the game.

I Do

What kind of vow'd I write?
Would I believe my words?
There's nothing tying what I say in life,
T'what I do aferwards,

As far as I'm concerned nothing matters,
Do you know what I mean?
We're born to this world, when we die we're gone,
Ethics has no footing,

But feelings do!
For a tool that will stick,
One's gut is a pretty good compass, too,
But avoid religion and politics.

Grow Up

You want to know something?
I never thought myself,
Was anyone other than who I am,
Forget anyone else,

But there's a reason we live together,
I mean humanity,
We're only someone if there's someone else,
We can imagine looking back at me,

Seeing the person that I know I am,
I mean, it's obvious,
If they don't appreciate what I bring,
Well, they can just get lost-

Not everyone!
Someone must see the truth,
Not understanding that they're people too,
A flaw we all should leave behind with youth.

Self-Self-Exploitation

I am taking a break,
"Hmmph, from what?" you snicker,
I admit I don't have to wash my hands,
Thanks to an employer,

I sometimes like to think of me as boss,
And me as employee,
So that I will have a lot of practice,
Should I become one eventually,

"You must exercise mutual respect,
Not easy for either,
You take the job home with you ev'ry day,
You eat it for dinner."

But that's ok,
I'm lucky, brah,
My life has more meaning because of it,
So what if I am breaking 'labour laws'.

Just Give Up Now

I just used my finger,
To log on to this blog,
Not tapping my password with one digit,
Don't diss my wherewithal,

Typing was my highest mark in high school,
Do not diss that, either,
All's to say this thing knows my finger print,
Without fight it got me to surrender,

Saying something about security,
But who d'I have to fear?
Some person wanting to co-opt my site,
Or the machine creep here,

Whose got my print?
Or is it on the web?! At least ancestry's keeping my spit safe,
It's the last trusted corporation left.

Late At Night

Where is self-confidence,
What do I have to pay?
Not the kind you can talk to a stranger,
But knowing what to say,

Seeing everything in front of you,
Knowing what people want,
Seeing their motivations and their fears,
More than that, knowing what it is you want,

I'm starting to think there's a lot of you,
I wasn't in the game,
Just wishing that being me was enough,
While you just gained and gained.

It's my time now,
I mean, I know no more,
I just think that it's finally my time,
To see the reason for what came before.

Oh Well

Is there any value,
In understanding things,
In a way that others can understand,
That once were mysteries,

Which you think could be used to help others,
Helping people connect,
Showing them how to make things fair for all,
Else, you'd not have wasted your intellect,

That then's used to give one an advantage,
(Not sure why I'm surprised),
Because despite what we always hope for,
Humans are not nice guys?

'Course you could say,
There is still a chance, yet,
Just like the sun might not rise tomorrow,
I am sure not going to take that bet.

Brain Fog

I don't know what to say,
My head is all foggy,
I'm trying to lean into this new state,
Than sweeping it away,

We are born into this world as we are,
We've no sway over that,
Then as we grow we are just what we are,
Doesn't matter what we were aiming at,

So here I sit wondering what is next,
Changes or all the same,
Either way, I will be just who I am,
Really, it's all the same,

Except this thought,
Then the one that follows,
No matter where you are, that's where you are,
And where that is nobody really knows.

Just Do You

Some folks say it's bad luck,
To acknowledge your wins,
Live life without any expectations,
Desiring is a sin,

That is punished by never succeeding,
Even when you succeed,
For what you desire isn't the thing,
But the impossible to fulfill need,

But surely one can straddle both sides, no?
Gratefulness and desire,
One cannot exist without the other,
Nor should one be higher,

You need balance,
I'm sure you heard that, too,
Of course one might prefer to switch extremes,
Or attain an equal mix of the two.

Can't Be Mad At What You Don't Want

Despite the fears you have,
Sometimes you must believe,
So a thing has no chance of existing,
In the world you perceive,

It's nothing to do with it being wrong,
It is just wrong for you,
If you want to live in a world you want,
Not letting wrong be's the least you can do,

When you don't, you give part of life away,
The only one you got,
Which is fine if you know what you're giving,
Assuming you were taught,

See, there's the rub,
We can't do it ourselves,
There is no world without other people,
E'en when you are totally by yourself.

Why A.I.

A documentary,
AlphaGo is its name,
In two thousand, sixteen Google's DeepMind,
Won humanity's game,

Built of vast options and intuition,
No computer could fake,
Chess was impressive but just proved one thing,
The best computing could computers make,

But eighteen world Go champyan Lee Sedol,
Could ne'er lose to A.I.
For DeepMind was just that, and you know what?
Well, in Go, there's no tie.

But here's the thing,
Once Lee got over loss,
It turns out his game got better than if,
He never played DeepMind and never lost.

Now

I am all alone now,
Though someone else is here.
Some'd say this is a weird situation,
Well, maybe that's just fear,

Speaking if which, that's something to avoid,
If you've had quite enough,
Fear is just one of many ways to see,
You must see more to know what's truly up,

Like do you like to do or not to do?
Yes, that is the question,
It's not that ev'rything's been said before,
It's what, where, who, and when.

What do you know?
I bet you know a lot,
If only we cared 'bout what people know,
Maybe the world wouldn't be so fucked up.

The Way

I can't be safe no more,
I've realized it's not safe,
It's got to do with my mid-heaven sign,
According to my wife,

It's something I've always been aware of,
Always riding the line,
Because, you know what, sometimes safe is good,
You can literally die crossing lines,

The trick is knowing which ones are okay,
Oh, and not testing fate,
If you're not sure, err on the side of no,
Good things to those who wait,

Not those who die,
They may be remembered,
Bet you don't know what happens when you die,
Don't find out until you're old and tenured.

It's a Sign

My water is rising,
My sun is water, too,
I am floating in air far above earth,
The fires, quite a view,

To the dark side I fly, not the first one,
Still, it's colder than hell,
The stars, the stars, told me where will I go,
Before I promptly fell,

Savor this moment between two nothings,
It is all that exists,
The regrets for time wasted is precious,
When understood like this.

Now let us sink,
Back down and then forget,
This boat I send off for others to find,
Though, I've not found one from others, as yet.

Preparing for Battle

I know I can do this,
The question is, will I?
Is it possible it is hit and miss,
If I'll conquer or die?

I have to believe that I have control,
No, I have to just know,
For if it's in my power to succeed,
Not believing is not the way to go,

Succeeding means you are ready to fail,
There must be risk to win,
Ensuring your odds by surrendering,
Your self to nature's whim.

It's on your side,
If you are on its, too,
Accept the gift of pure uncertainty,
Wrapped in the pleasure of presenting you.

It's Time

It's coming together,
If I just let it be,
Don't get excited and try tinkering,
'sif I've sagacity,

Getting in the way of the universe,
Giving me a leg up,
The smallest effort of it thwarted by,
Me paying my two cents for a new rut,

Then asking why the universe don't care,
To help a brother out,
Give me a cent for each two cents I've lost,
And I'd be rich, no doubt,

You do the math,
Look back over the years,
How many times did you get in your way,
Because you couldn't let go of your fears?

The Philosopher's Bowl

This is what I have meant,
I hope you see it now,
Even though some things might seem very weird,
It's accepted some how,

Unless it falls outside propriety,
Then it is really weird,
Don't ask me how to tell which one is which,
Only action reveal what's fine and feared,

Like, go ahead and buy a whole island,
Do whatever you want,
But, god forbid that's all the cash you got,
When the cops want a lot,

And you are broke,
Oh boy, that's the real crime,
Having money proves you have got the stuff,
When you've done something wrong to pay the fine.

Get Ready

This might be the lowest,
In relation to age,
That in retrospect I'll have found myself,
When I am gone and dead,

My life will seem like an epic journey,
This being the nadir,
Then through a series chance encounters,
My opportunity's finally here,

Yes luck is ninety percent readiness,
But something's got to come,
Detached from any effort on your side,
To make the connection,

To succeeding,
Plus a firmly blind eye,
To those for whom luck has been elusive,
Who've been as ready for it as have I.