Perception by Construction

Manas, manah, mentis, mantis,
The thought that thinks itself itself,
That questions the world for patterns,

That yearns to understand what’s next,
That is manic for prediction,
Memory, reflection, belief,

The machine that makes all meanings
In hopes they are discoveries
Of something that is outside mind,

The first lenses, the first mirrors,
The first alchemical musings
That you could navigate by ideas,

Mind as an additional sense
Reading patterns in the scatter
Of the entrails of galaxies—

It’s a physical extension
Of synaptic origami,
Long crane dancing on the midden.