Oh Great Free Thinking, Deliver Us

I open up a text book
and sit.

Confronted by my ignorance
to simplistic statements, now
spelling simple solutions to
mysteries, ancient as the
euphrates, where minds would
gather and break bread over
questions unsolvable.

Then, there were no words,
there were gods to sift through
the painful pangs and persistence,
when we could rest aloof to words
content in deistic scapegoats.

Now, there are no gods.
but, who needs gods?

let us pray to mighty medulla
let us worship awful thalamus
and tear our clothes before great ganglia
or cover our head with black ash
in the name of dentate gyrus
who needs gods?

so, let us come and celebrate!
for everything makes sense:
press here to feel happy
scratch this to feel sad

we are free from dreaded mystery!
come and raise your glass
celebrate our freedom
dance on the grave of wonder
shout atop lungs, for the war has ended
oh, we will dance and dance and dance

then, perhaps we will fall down drunk
collapse into empty beds and waste
away with some uncontrollable
understanding of being

alone.