The Universal Survey

If you asked a question,
Of ev'ryone you know,
Individually, without sharing,
Where other answers go,

What question would it need to be to have,
All answers in common?
"Do you want peace?", "Do you have what you want?",
"Is there a difference between humans?",

"Do you want ev'ryone to be the same?",
"Can you and I be friends?",
"Do you think we have the communal will,
"To bring war to an end?"

What about me?
Yes, no, no, no, yes, no,
I guess if you're reading this it's a start,
Try sending it to ev'ryone you know.

A Meditation

Some things should not be said,
They should be done, instead,
The very act of putting words to them,
Leaves the intention dead,

You want an example, I can't give one,
For the exact reason,
Just know that as you are consuming this,
It's only possible through my action,

How long it took you are welcome to guess,
Let your mind do the rest,
Extract the meaning only you can find,
Or what's left out, at best,

Now off you go,
I mean no disrespect,
If you give me some benefit of doubt,
You may find my expression is perfect.

A Downer

Two plus two equals four,
Five times three is fifteen,
Add them together and then you can drink,
Except in Tamuning,

Plus other places owned by the U.S.,
But you can buy a gun,
This ain't a critique of America,
I've not the stomach for revolution,

To tell the truth, I'm not even from there,
But, oh boy, I'd be screwed,
If that empire actually died,
I bet that you'd be, too,

But there are those,
Who'd welcome its demise,
Unless it meant nuclear holocaust,
I don't have enough lines to make this nice.

Here’s The Problem

It's best we all hustle,
If we want to survive,
Make sure that we all know every angle,
To keep ourselves alive,

Understanding what will help or hurt us,
Given any human,
Not forgetting that we all are equal,
To hustle you do not have to be mean,

Just like CEOs don't have to either,
Nor does your jealous friend,
We know that if everyone was just nice,
All world conflict would end,

That's de facto,
You cannot pretend,
That government would even be a thing,
If we all just had the best intentions.

Stop Reading

Here's the thing about faith,
In a god or in you,
Assuming there's a diff'rence between them,
That's not in my purview,

In either case you are taking a leap,
Without a guarantee,
That instead of you being rewarded,
When you land you won't crush your hopes and dreams,

The alternative's familiar to all,
You're doing it right now,
Not that reading is a big waste of time,
But we know it's not how,

To make a life,
'Least that's what my dad said,
He was always fearful of what I'd learn,
Absorbing the thoughts from another's head.

Where's My Place

Why've I not been writing?
I'll tell you what it is,
I have been struggling with what use I am,
Midst the circumstances,

Surrounding climate, war, and, yes, my skin,
Shouldn't I keep quiet,
Let those speak with more of it in the game,
Maybe they can fix the broke my kind lit,

Then again what happens if they do not,
But turn the tables 'round,
Take what should have been their rights from the start,
Eye for eye, pound for pound?

Or should my voice,
Quiet down just enough,
'Til there's room for everyone equally?
I am afraid, these days, I'm not that tough.

Losing My Religion

Oh, here we go again,
Depressed for no reason,
Except for all those actions I repressed,
For ethical questions,

Which is the reason for all religion,
Speaking of which, I've none,
Except for my faith in the universe,
Instilled by my catholic reformed mom,

Still, a faith that is tenuous at best,
But don't tell uni that,
I have my slips in those moments of fear,
My life is not exact-

-ly what I want,
Still, what does it owe me?
Perhaps if I became an orthodox,
I'd be free of responsibility.

Three Rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court

Who cares who someone loves?

What, I'm oblivious?
There are people with truth others don't have,
Afraid of god's justice?

What about those who can't afford college,
But still need a degree,
Else they can't get a job to pay school debt,
Which is like a glitch in an R.P.G.?

If they can get into college at all,
Depending on their skin,
For now there's no protection from racists-
I mean, from the system.

But who am I?
Just another white dude,
Feeling nervous writing this down,
Lest my own opinions get me eschewed.

The Mind's I

Sometimes I get anxious,
What's my mind telling me,
Is there is something I am not getting,
That I am missing,

It doesn't matter if I never know,
It doesn't expect that,
I just have to try to align myself,
With how it's advising me to act,

Which it don't do with any words, per se,
Think more telepathy,
If I had a mind of my own plus it,
And I just let it free,

That is scary,
To have faith in your gut,
And your ability to figure out,
The best course to take when you're in a rut.

To The Altruistic

How do you navigate,
Through this sea of people,
All of whom are seeking their own rewards,
From priveleged to feable?

From those who appear they have all they need,
Whether they're rich or poor,
The chronically unlucky to the blessed,
Most believe that they are deserving more,

It's like macro and micro, yin and yang,
Rowdy Piper and Hulk,
Asked to apportion your wealth to the world,
We would all keep the bulk.

You disagree?
You're diff´rent from Bill Gates?
I like to think about me that way, too-
Oops, gotta get to work or I´ll be late!

Happy Father's Day!

Yes, it is father's day,
You can do what you want,
Don't know who set it up or what they meant,
Don't think they questioned Kant,

For there was no imperative for this,
But I'll take what I can,
A time for self-reflection's never bad,
Unless you realize you're one dimension,

But I can't say I have any regrets,
Or else, someone might hear,
J.K., if I had to do all again,
I'd without any fear,

For all is good,
Fact, better than ever,
If one tweak to my life might change today,
I would stop you from touching the lever.

The Safe Route

Sometimes I remember,
And sometimes I forget,
When I let myself be carried away,
It is the best time, yet,

One serendipidous thing after next,
Starts happening to me,
With no foreseeable end, if I want,
Still, fear keeps me away from ecstacy,

For it might be the case that faith in life's,
Rewarded with success,
A theory that must be proved constantly,
Until you're left with less,

Or maybe more,
But is it worth the risk?
Safely balance on a low-strung tightrope,
Happy never to experience bliss.

What Are We Striving For?

Now I'm reading Bostrom,
Superintelligence,
I am past the history of A.I.,
Or it's non-existence,

So far it appears there is a threshold,
That must be overcome,
The capacity to learn and discern,
To reach superhuman computation,

Which we may not have the computers for,
If we even knew how,
The brain's configured to make what we've made,
To get where we're at now,

If that's the goal,
What have we done so far,
With th'intelligence we're trying to Ape,
Feels like we may be aiming for sub-par.

While I Wait

I'm barely connected,
Almost forgot this line,
These days if I can't write my train of thought,
I'm sounding like I whine,

When, let's be honest, that's all that I do,
Then say something like this,
"Oh boy, I didn't know I'd have this chance,
To show you that I am conscientious,

Of, let's be honest, that's all that I do,
P'haps I should have said this,
"I'm being silly, but it's hard to tell,
Without context, unless,

You've read other,
Opinions just like this,"
But I didn't and I have lost the train,
Which, let's face it, should have been hard to miss."

The Need for the Debt Ceiling

Wish someone could tell me,
What the debt ceiling means,
Other than an arbitrary number,
From nineteen seventeen,

When printing a dollar meant there was gold,
Ready to back it up,
That rule came and went a few times since then,
But not since the ceiling debt did erupt

Debt in the first place is only as strong,
As the dollar remains,
The U.S. gold vault could be filled with moths,
Still, backed by fighter planes.

What is my point?
Maybe there isn't one,
Either things are exactly as they seem,
Or bound only by imagination.

I'm Not Complaining

As summer looms closer,
Along with my last breath,
Like so many other middle-class men,
I am grappling with death,

When I should be telling myself instead,
'You are not middle class',
Maybe your parents clawed their way to it,
But the world has changed and it's missed your grasp,

You will find out in the coming summers,
And the climbing degrees,
Even those who are now legit ok,
No value in money,

Except for those,
With so much, it's like air,
They breathe it in, inside protective domes,
Then scoff at those who say the world's not fair.

Why A.I. Should Be Regulated

Let's talk about A.I.,
It is not writing this,
Or has it read ev'ry one of my Waths,
And said, 'they'll think it's his"?

No, I am not going to get meta,
I have too much to say,
The question is could it follow my thoughts,
Then tell me what I'll be thinking one day?

Help me find the path most satisfying,
Based on my hopes and fears,
I'd be uploading it my brain right now,
If it could erase tears,

Then find my bliss,
Don't tell the government,
There's only room for one system 'round here,
And, boy, universal wealth isn't it.

Control Your Loved Ones

What's making you upset,
About where your life's at,
The loneliness from loved ones who decide,
They will unhang their hat,

Walk out the door and explore a new road,
That will not pass by you,
Should not be channelled at those not so hurt,
Who enjoy the status you feel you're due,

Instead try being happy they're happy,
Okay, that is a lot,
Especially, if you had it your way,
They'd not get what they sought,

Which is freedom,
To do just as they please,
Why can't they see your chosen path for them,
Would make you, who they should love, the most pleased?

You Can Live Forever

As we all get older,
Like in the last second,
Not the one that you passed before you read this,
The one 'round the next bend,

Which if we always keep it in its place,
Will, yes, never arrive,
I tell you it is as easy as that,
The caveat's you keep yourself alive

Otherwise the whole system falls apart,
Then you will never see,
An eternity in which you become,
All the things you can be,

That's ev'rything,
Of course, it's not just time,
This all assumes you'll try to do something,
Not just sit on your ass and wait to die

Game Two

It has been quite a day,
And the days in between,
Sometimes I wonder if a normal life's,
Anything someone's seen,

Or if it's worth it even having one,
Given the time we've got,
Think of those you know having a good time,
I bet you'd trade them for your sorry lot,

No offence, I'm sure you have got it made,
Nice house, a job, and phone,
I hope coworkers give you accolades,
Then you get more at home,

You deserve it,
You have made it this far,
Trying to concentrate as you write this,
Killing time inside of a loud sports bar.