Snow Sonnet

Cold is the snow falling down the window
Gently, softly, quiet on the meadow
Its an endless expanse, totally flat
Except over there, pawprints of a cat
She silently wanders through frozen land
While the flakes keep falling, drops of candy
I follow the cat into the unknown
And then – like the wind – She’s suddenly gone
Falling snow covers the trail of small paws
I turn back to find the warmth of the house
But see just white – swallowed in nature’s jaws
To her expanse, I am just a mere mouse
I navigate by smell of warm cocoa
To home – I warm my hands from winter’s snow

The Story of the Brain

                                                                     

THE DEATHS OF EARTH AND MARS

BRIAN STEEM BY HORSE LOOKED FOR SAFE SHELTER
TO KEEP SUSTENENCE, HE LEAVES THE SWELTER
COLD BLOODED, CONCERNED WITH JUST FOUR S'S
THE FIRST THREE AND REPRODUCTION ARE TESTS
AND IF FAILED HE IS DOOMED AS A WILTER

ON THE WAY, HE MET A LADY CONDEMNED
FULL OF FEELING, NAME LIN B. IXIS TEM
A CHANCE TO FULFILL A TEST, THOUGHT BRIAN
SAID HE, "FOLLOW ME, WE MUST FIND SOME RAIN!"
REPLIED SHE, "OMG, TYVM!"

AND SO THE TWO WENT OFF IN SEARCH OF RAIN
SHE FOR ADVENTURE, AND HE FOR MERE GAIN
SIDE BY SIDE, THEY KEPT ALWAYS THE SAME LANE
THEN THEY SAW A KNIGHT WHO SPOKE WORDS OF PAIN
HE MOVED IN THEIR PATH, AND SAID WITH GREAT VAIN

"I, THE GREAT SIR RAB RALCOR STAND BY HERE
CALL ME TEX, YOU SHALL NOT PASS ME, I FEAR
MY SWORD SKILLS ARE FAR BEYOND YOUR LEVEL
THAT WOMAN NEXT TO YOU IS THE DEVIL
HAND HER OVER, AND LEAVE UNHARMED, YOU HEAR?"

"SIR RAB RALCOR TEX, YOU MISUNDERSTAND
WE WISH ONLY TO FIND RAIN ON THIS LAND
IF YOU CANNOT ALLOW FOR US TO PASS
I'LL BE FORCED TO PUT THIS SWORD UP YOUR - *GASP*
MY SWORD IS SOMETHING YOU CANNOT WITHSTAND"

IN THE MISTY HAZE, TWO FIGURES EMERGED
AS THEY WALKED CLOSER, THEIR TWO PATHS DIVERGED
ON TEX'S LEFT, HIS RIGHT HAND MAN APPEARED
ON THE RIGHT, THE LEFT HAND MAN, TO BE FEARED
THE TWO HEM-PERE BROTHERS, FOREVER MERGED

SIAMESE TWINS OF CORPORAL CALLOW
IT WAS JOINING OR FACING THE GALLOW
SINCE CALLOW LEFT, THEY DECIDED TO SPLIT
BUT THEY STILL TRAVEL TOGETHER A BIT
NEXT TO TEX, THEY SPOKE A HOLLOW HELLO

LEFF, ON THE LEFT, WAS A MAN OF LOGIC
RIT, HAD CREATIVITY AND MAGIC
TOGETHER, THEY MADE UP TEX'S ARMY
AND THEY HELD WEAPONS FROM THE ARMOURY
SAID, "HERE ARE THE WEAPONS SIR, TAKE YOUR PICK"

ONE WAS A BOWL LABELLED PARIETAL BOWL
TEX HELD IT OVER HIS HEAD AND YELLED "HOL-
-Y PARIETAL BOWL, ACTIVATE FOR ME"
AS THE WEAPON BEGAN TO GLOW, HE SMILED WITH GLEE
TO BRIAN STEEM HE SPOKE, "WE'LL NOW MEET OUR GOAL"

BECAUSE THE BOWL -- IT WAS VERY SPECIAL
IT WAS RADAR, MADE ONLY OF METAL
IT TOOK IN OPTICAL INFORMATION
AND MAPPED IT FOR MAKING SUBLIMATION
BUT IT WAS STILL JUST EXPERIMENTAL

AND BY MURPHY'S LAW, AS IF ON CUE
A CRACK FORMED AND DARKENED THE HUE
TEX SCOWLED AT THE DEFECTIVE EQUIPMENT
TOOK THE FRONTAL BOWL, BUT IT HAD A DENT
IT SHOULD HAVE DESTROYED DECISIONS, BUT NOO

INDISTINGUISHABLE GOOD AND BAD
AND TO CAUSE SYMPTOMS OF THE DISORDER GAD
WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE PURPOSE OF THIS
BUT IT ONLY GAVE THE VIEW OF ABYSS
TEX WAS BEGINNING TO GET VERY SAD

NOW IT WAS TIME TO STOP MESSING AROUND
OCCIPITAL AND TEMPORAL, HE DOWNED
HE IMMEDIATELY FELT HIS VISION
BUT FROM OVERDOSE, HE BEGAN TO FISSION
SIR RAB RALCOR "TEX" GONE WITHOUT A SOUND

BRIAN TURNED AROUND TO BRAG TO LIN TEM
BUT SHE WAS GONE - PERHAPS KIDNAPPED BY THEM
THE HEM-PERES WERE GONE TOO, HE WAS ALONE
HE SLOWLY WALKED ON AND SAW A TROMBONE
USED IT AS A PILLOW, SLEPT AND FELT REM

HOWEVER, IT WAS ACTUALLY A SWITCH
TO DESTROY THE GREAT CEREMU BELL WHICH
MEANT GRAVITY LOST ALL OF ITS BALANCE
AN EARTHQUAKE BROKE BRIAN OUT OF HIS TRANCE
HE SCRAMBLED, BUT IT WAS TOO LATE, EARTH PITCHED

AMY DALA SAW THE FIREWORKS FROM MARS
SHE RAN TO HER GARAGE WHICH CONTAINED CARS
SEIZED BY BOTH AGGRESSION AND A GREAT FEAR
SHE VISITED SAI SORCAR TES, THE SEER
AND MOTT CURT X, IN CHARGE OF MOVEMENT TARS

TOGETHER THEY TRAVELLED TO HIPPO-CAMP
TO FIND MEMORIES OF EARTH'S GIANT CRAMP
THE HIPPOCAMPUS HAS ALL MEMORIES
FROM THE UNIVERSE'S START TO DIARIES
AND EVEN THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD AMP

THEN THEY WENT TO THE THALMATORY
TO FIND EARTH AND TAKE INVENTORY
THEY SAW THE BIG FRACTURED CEREBELLUM
HEARD, FELT, TASTED WHAT IT HAD BECOME
THEY JUST COULDN'T SMELL, OR USE FOR QUARRY

SO THEY VISITED THE PLANET'S CENTER
HYPOTHALMUS, ITS CALLED, AND THEY ENTERED
IT REGULATES THE WHOLE PLANET'S WELLFARE
MAINTENANCE, WEATHER, AND TEMPERATURE
OCCUPIED BY A VERY WISE RENTER

MEDUSA WAS THE OCCUPANT'S FINE NAME
SHE BREATHES WITH THE PLANET, THE MAGICAL DAME
AND HER HEART BEATS JUST FOR THE PLANET TOO
THE TRIO ARRIVED AND SHE LED THEM THROUGH
"WE LOOKED AT THE SKY, THE EARTH IS AFLAME!"

A LOOK OF VANITY APPEARED ON HER
SHE TURNED AROUND AND SAID THE WORDS "THERE, THERE"
AND SHE DESTROYED THE PITUITARY
AND KILLED MARS'S GROWTH, A THOUGHT SO SCARY
THE PLANET IMPLODED AND DEATH WAS THERE

AND SO THE MORAL OF THIS STORY GOES:
SLEEP ON A TROMBONE, YOU CANNOT FORECLOSE
A PLANET'S EXPLOSION, NOR CAN YOU STOP
A NEIGHBORING PLANET THAT WILL GO POP
BEST SLEEP ON A PILLOW, I DO SUPPOSE

Dehydration

The light only gets stronger.
We tried to keep it from getting to the soda
We used a clay cap to the vat.
But it was only a matter of time
Before the light transilluminated to the dark liquid
The soda bubbled and burped and pressurized
As the clay foundation flew off
Soda spilled onto the ground below.
It evaporated almost immediately,
The last of our beverages gone.

Dehydration
I’ve no more sweat to shed
The painless heat engulfs me.

Wind

I can see the wind
No, not like seeing the leaves blow in the wind
I see the wind itself
It is like an octopus, with so many wispy tentacles
I can grab onto them
Each one takes me to a new place and time
I’ve been to the pyramids, I’ve seen the dinosaurs
One of the wisps led to inside a volcano
Death is a side effect of freedom
But death is only temporary
There is wind in heaven leading back to earth
There is wind underwater
I have been everywhere

I once saw a tornado
The wind spun like someone stirring soup
A sharp sound, sharper than the wind, rang out
A small child, drowning in the windy soup
He was trying to resist the wind instead of embracing it
I swam to him and carried him out
Dropped him down to safety
Some people are too weak to be free

 

Life Toothpaste

Life toothpaste.

Pristine when bought.

After 5th use, deflates slightly.

After 50th use, wrinkled.

After 500th use, empty.

Buy more.

Empties again.

Bought ten when it was on sale.

High on life.

Ran out.

Cavities happen.

Soul fills with irreparable holes.

Decays to nothing.

Get wooden teeth.

Fake a soul.

Fake a smile.

Flowers Part 2 (Death)

She smells a flower
But she is lost in the dark
Blind, in the pitch fog

He sees the flowers
They cascade before his eyes
Picks one, holds it high

She tastes the flower
Bittersweet memories burn
But ghosts cannot feel

He feels the flowers
As he falls into her grave
Heartbreak is soundless.

I hear the flowers
They tell a tragic story
A life ended here

 

Rearranging some words and lines, the 5 haiku from The Flowers can be given an entirely different meaning.  The love of his life is dead, and unable to cope, he dies next to her in a heartbreak.  The flowers here are mere witnesses.

The Flowers

He smells the flowers
But is blind and cannot see
Lost in the meadow

She sees the flowers
Their eternal beauty shines
But ghosts cannot feel

He feels the flowers
Brings a petal to his mouth
His taste is extinct

She tastes the flowers
Bittersweet tears cry in pain
But their voice is mute

I hear the flowers
They tell a tragic story
Dead, fragrant no more

Five Haikus, in a cycle of gaining one sense at the expense of another.  If there exists any message behind the words, its probably that if a human and an object of great beauty coexist, one will succumb to the effects of the other.

This idea is not new.  In The Odyssey, there were Sirens whose songs were the most beautiful sounds to ever grace the planet.  Unfortunately, anyone unlucky enough to hear the sounds will meet an impending doom of hearing the songs and forsaking all other necessities including food and drink, possibly even breath.

Many poisonous animals employ vibrant moving colors which would captivate the eye, but should one approach too closely, a downfall involving potent neurotoxins awaits.  Of course, some people kill and preserve these animals to admire their beauty, but this of course leaves said animal dead.

To survive, everything needs some form of defense mechanism.  An object/animal/plant of beauty’s defense lies not in its appearance, so they more often use the element of surprise.  Woe to the innocent observer who gets too close then, and is jumped upon by such a defense mechanism.  Either it is potent enough to harm the observer sufficiently, or it is not and the observer retaliates, destroying the object/animal/plant of beauty.  Thus, unless under special circumstances, they cannot coexist.

No Place Like Home

 

Floor is cold and bare.

The silent echoes of life

Doused by the screeching laugh of a ghost.

Walls are dusty.

They smell of urine and decadence.

I step upon a fallen shard of glass.

It cuts into my bare foot with raw pain

But I do not feel it.

The pain is nothing to the sorrow and remorse

That inhabit my heavy heart.

The oven timer blinks.

It mocks me, flashing 12:00 over and over.

The wooden dining table remains, rotting.

One leg has fallen over.

Standing pathetically on three legs, it begs to be put out of misery.

But I am powerless to do so.

I find the couch I loved two years ago.

Instead of love, hated boils inside.

Memories tear at my eyes, begging to be seen.

I close them, but vivid pictures remain.

Memories of living in this wretched unholy house.

There is no place like home.

Skull and Mask

 

The noxious air engulfs my hollow chest

And inner pain denies my wish to rest

My vision cries

Of ebon skies

The mask I don has fused into my skull

I’m blind, I’m deaf, I’m mute, my life is null.

Chapter 4 – Too Much Of A Good Thing Makes For A Great News Story

Too Much Of A Good Thing Makes For A Great News Story

“If our fear of gluttony is the fear of wanting too much, then our fear of greed is the fear of wanting it all. Even the most enthusiastic of gluttons achieves satiation after the eighteenth Whopper or the fourteenth Ring Ding and then falls asleep. Greed never sleeps; the ordinarily greedy make money in their dreams and the successfully greedy make money even while they dream”. – Regina Barreca

[House of Grant]

Grant was clearly disturbed by Oben’s unflinching desire to ending the universe.

“Perhaps you should handle this,” he quietly muttered, pushing the keyboard to the left, in front of Mephisto. “You know more about psychology.”

“Point for me!” Mephisto cackled, “Watch this.”

*****

[House of Oben]

“May I ask what you are trying to accomplish?”

Oben looked around, unable to locate the source of the sound.

“Allow my to introduce myself first, some of your folk call me the devil, but I prefer you call me by my name — Mephisto.”

Oben, disturbed by this mysterious voice, asked, not know where to look, “Are you evil?”

A laugh filled the air, sending a chill both up and down through Oben’s spine.  He quaked in fear.

“God and I have this hobby between us to play good and evil.  It’s fun to watch how your people react.  Now, I’m asking again, what are you trying to accomplish?”

Wanting not to anger the devil himself, Oben struggled to find an acceptable answer.  What was he trying to do?

“I was just trying to end a program.”

“Do you realize that you have crashed the simulation of your universe, twice?  You ended the world, twice.”

“Why am I still alive then?”

“You’re technically not alive.  You’re just part of a computer program?”

“Why do I feel alive then?”

“You were programmed that way.”

“So what do you want me to do?”

“I want you to control the world through your coding to your heart’s content.”

“What if my way of doing that is through System exits?”

“Why would you want to destroy a universe that you can rule?”

“This universe is not a fun one.”

“Make it fun.  How about this, I will try to create a moment of happiness for you, and if, at any point, you wish to remain in that moment forever, you will agree that I am better than Grant.”

“Grant?”

“God.”

“Sure, I guess.”

“Excellent, you have made a deal with the devil!”

On Oben’s computer screen, a number of lines of code started writing themselves.

Space space=this.space; //This is all the space in the universe

Location flashDriveLoc=this.memoryCardForOben.getLocation(); //This is the flash drive

“Grant, I take back what I said about global variables.  They help a lot,” Mephisto’s voice rang out, ”Oh, sorry, forgot to mute the microphone.”

MatterLump[] stuff=space.getMatterLumps(); //This is all of the planets and stars and nebulas in the universe

int index=0;

double minDist=Double.MAX_VALUE;

for (int i=0;i<stuff.length;i++) { //This goes through all the stuff in the universe

if (Physics.distance(flashDriveLoc,stuff[i].getLocation())<minDist) { //And finds the closest one to the flash drive

index=i;

minDist=Physics.distance(flashDriveLoc,stuff[i].getLocation());

}

}

Planet earth=(Planet)(stuff[index]); //That planet is earth

LifeForm[] bioMatter=earth.getLifeForms(); //This gets all the cells and life on earth

index=0;

minDist=Double.MAX_VALUE;

for (int i=0;i<bioMatter.length;i++) { //Goes through all life

if (Physics.distance(flashDriveLoc,bioMatter[i].getLocation())<minDist && bioMatter[i].getSizePlanckLengthCubed()>Math.pow(10,99)) { //And finds the life closest to the flash drive bigger than a bacteria

index=i;

minDist=Physics.distance(flashDriveLoc,bioMatter[i].getLocation());

}

}

Human oben=(Human)(bioMatter[index]); //That would be the human named Oben

Cell[] obenCells=oben.getCells(); //Get every cell in Oben’s body

for (int i=0;i<obenCells;length;i++) { //Go through them

if (obenCells[i] instanceof Neuron) { //Find the ones that are neurons

((Neuron)(obenCells[i])).releaseDopamine(); //And make them fire dopamine

}

}

A strong surge of ecstasy washed over Oben as each of his neurons fired their neurotransmitters almost simultaneously.  The feeling lasted for less than a split second, but the effect was clearly overwhelming, as he flipped out of consciousness for a second, and on regaining it, a residing feeling of giddiness remained, causing a heavy tingling sensation.  The dazed  static in his ears was rudely interrupted by Mephisto,

“How was that?  Would you like to live in that moment forever?”

“With all due respect, as much as I enjoyed that split second rush, I doubt I would want to experience that for eternity.”

Mephisto sighed, “You are smarter than 95% of the people I have dealt with.  Very well, I will try something else. Go pick up that paper money on the desk over there.”

Oben obediently got up and walked to where he left the five dollar bill, picking it up, unsure what Mephisto was planning.

Money bill = (Money)(oben.getHeldObjects().get(0)); //Get the dollar bill in Oben’s hand

for (int i=0;i<100;i++) { //Then, for 100 times

oben.getHeldObjects().add(bill.clone()); //Make another bill

}

Spontaneously appearing in Oben’s hand were 100 more five dollar bills.  The sudden increase in weight caused Oben to release the bills, and they fluttered down on to the floor.  Oben, in awe, scrambled to his knees and moved his hand through them, confirming they were real.  He picked two up and looked at them.  Exact clones.

“With infinite money at your hands, would you like to live in this moment forever?”

Oben focused hard on the money, and after a ten second silence, resolved to reply with a negative.

“No, it is not infinite money.  The serial numbers are all the same.”

“What?  Money has serial numbers now?  Since when?”

“Since about 200 years ago, maybe?  I don’t know.”

“We stopped paying attention to you people about 2000 years ago, so I guess it makes sense things would change.  Well, I have to go somewhere now anyway, but I’ll be back.”

Silence filled the room, with Oben sitting on his knees.  Circulation was being cut, so he decided to get up and retrieve some food from his kitchen.  He brought back up an apple.  Holding it firmly in his right hand, he awkwardly typed with his left,

oben.getHeldObjects().add(oben.getHeldObjects().get(0).clone()); //Take first held object and clone it

Another apple appeared in his hand.  Eating one and tossing the core, he held the other apple, and pressed up, then enter to copy the same line of code and execute it again.  A third apple appeared.  A thought filled his mind.  He could single handedly solve world hunger.  There was a small farmer’s market a walkable distance from his house where he could try his magic.

Thread magicThread = new Thread () { //Make a thread

public void run() { //That when run

while (true) { //Will for eternity

if (oben.getHeldObjects().size()>1) { //See if I am holding more than one object

oben.getHeldObjects().add(oben.getHeldObjects().get(1).clone()); //And if I am, clone the second one

}

}

}

};

magicThread.start(); //Run that thread

Taking care to hold only one ting at a time, he put a small ball in his pocket and  walked as fast as he could to the market.  There, he picked up a potato and striked up a conversation with the manager.

“Hi, this is a fine potato.  If I could supply you with 100 potatos exactly like this, would you buy them?”

“How much would you sell them for?”

“However much you’re selling this for, halved.”

“Deal.”

“Watch closely,” Oben smiled as he began tossing the potato in the air and catching it with his right hand a few times.  He reached into his coat pocket and grasped the ball while the potato was in the air for the fifth time.  The moment the potato landed back in his clutches, a great stack of potatos seemingly growing out of the first, began to rise faster than Oben’s or the manager’s eyes could keep up.  It rose high enough to break the ceiling instantaneously, and by the time Oben could react and drop the stack of potatos, there may have been already ten thousand in a vertical column.  As they began to fall, Oben started to walk slowly away, while everyone else in the shop was awestruck by the numerous potatos.

His walking pace turned into a run as he tried to get out of the store as fast as he could.  He found his way back to the door and grasped the metallic cool doorknob, turned it, wretched open the door, and sulked as he saw a great line of doorknobs extend out.  He let go of the ball in his pocket and simply stared, unsure what to do about the gargantuanly sized stack of still falling potatos and the line of doorknobs extending out.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder and asked, “How did you do that?  What’s going on?”

Oben’s fatigued reply, “Stack overflow.”