Look closely at a story,
Any story, and you’ll see
People can only make real
Human characters, human
Motivations, human needs.
Angels, gods, and aliens,
Talking animals, monsters,
intellectual machines—
The most vivid creations
Inevitably behave,
Mutatis mutandis, as
Humans are known to behave.
Do your best to bring others
To life, your worst to other
Human beings you don’t like,
Those others are always you.
They don’t just resemble you—
Story others are just you.
Explanations, equations,
Careful record-keeping can,
By avoiding narrative,
Come out fairly accurate,
But let a little story
Wander into descriptions
Of anything not human,
And all is human again.
Thursday, October 12, 2023
Human Again
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12 Oct 23
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