The Mimic

People are so good at it.
It’s odd they fear it the most.
It doesn’t need uncanny
Valley approximations.
The idea of anything
Definitely not human
Appearing to be human,
A mimic of the human
Good enough to be human,
Terrifies in a manner
Distinct from any other—
Predators, fire, violence—
And it’s not at all clear why.
When have there been non-human
Mimics of humans, outside
Of fables, myths, and legends?
And yet, if a non-human
Demon, spirit or machine,
Perfectly like a person,
Was known to be real, moving
Through people you thought you knew . . .

Neutral Buoyancy

Once you back away, you know
No one’s likely to approve.
Some will say you’re a coward

For not being more involved,
As if there weren’t bravery
In risking disapproval

And weathering it when it comes.
Some will say you have no heart
As if there were no passion

In simple pacifism.
Some will say you’re supporting
Whatever they consider

To be the bad other side,
As if inertia never
Led a system to collapse.

So another fight breaks out,
And you back away, coward,
Traitor, cold fish in the waves.

The Garden of Extra Meanings

Potent as it is, paying
Attention is expensive.
Constant attention saps thoughts,

And divided attention
Can invest all the expense
But yield nothing of meaning.

Who acts inattentively
Is fooling around with death,
The lover of distraction,

But no can always pay
Attention, much less always
Focus it in the best spots.

That’s what makes meaning weedy,
Blooming unexpectedly.

Now Sing Some of Your Songs

What did you sing as a child?
The pop songs you memorized,
Their choruses and fragments?

Hymns of the house of worship
Your family took you to,
Songs the adults sang at home?

Fiercely patriotic songs,
Nationalistic war songs,
Songs sung at protest marches?

Did you mangle the lyrics?
Did your peers or parents laugh?
If you were put on the spot

By someone demanding, Sing
Your songs, could you? Could you not?

Nouns and Numbers

You flick a crumb
Off the table
And consider

All the millions,
Maybe billions,
Of its atoms

And the billions
Of human lives
Living right now,

The two beings,
Atoms, humans,
Analogous

Only by terms
Of being nouns
In large numbers.

The crumb joins up
With dust and stray
Hairs on the floor.