SINGULARITY
By Edward Kenny
I used to go talk to the old man,
When I needed advice,
While it's true, he was only human,
That was a minor vice.
I used to look out at the ocean,
Just searching for a line,
Now, I have poetry in motion
That really isn't mine.
I saw Leonardo and Shakespeare
Both spinning in their graves,
They say, “although art won't disappear,
The artists will be slaves.”
But hey, I'm just an old man,
Why would you listen to me?
Say, "goodbye to the old man,
Hello, singularity."
I used to look up to the heavens,
Awed by the starry nights,
But now, I get all my directions
From the great satellites.
I would set off on an adventure,
Try to find the road,
I don't need to do that anymore,
But, new seeds won't be sowed.
And now, you don't see many town folk
In temple, church or mosque.
We control water with a keystroke,
Leave fire on the bosque.
But, we had to discover
For the sake of discovery,
Say, "goodbye to the old man,
Hello singularity."
How did we go so far asunder,
As if we didn't know?
Did we ever stop to ponder,
Words from years ago?
Now, you don't need a key to enter,
A code controls the doors,
And 'though you might be a dissenter,
Now, your house isn't yours.
Once we had the keys to the kingdom,
We traded them away,
Without asking if there was wisdom
In the new, better way.
But, can we still recover
The lost soul of humanity?
Well, try to find the old man,
Before singularity.
As I was getting set to travel,
Transforming molecules,
I asked, "how did this all unravel,
Surrendered to such fools?"
I guess that we were just distracted,
And maybe, we were spoiled,
We didn't think we'd be impacted,
With better angels foiled.
And what will it be like tomorrow?
Or is that day today?
If we feel artificial sorrow,
Who'll wipe our tears away?
I've heard there are advances
That might last for eternity,
But you won't find the old man,
After singularity.
‘Though, my favorite show is streaming,
I can’t find the remote,
So, I guess I’ll go back to dreaming
And leave you on that note.
And yet, I’m left to wonder
Just where that remote could be,
I guess I’m just and old man
Ripe for singularity.
