Can anyone say for certain what intelligence is really all about?

I wonder sometimes,
About the mind,
Its process of
Endless retention.
Genetically programmed
That we might survive,
Our mother of invention.

A box of thoughts,
Behind the eyes,
Complex in its
Computation.
A system sophisticate,
Quite sublime,
Grey matter with
No simple explanation.

It sifted what worked
From the sands of time,
Its task, to recall,
To center attention.
Food, drink, warmth
And shelter to find.
Subsistence, the business
Of our recollection.

With neural networks
To act as our guide,
We lived with a sense
Of an earthly connection.
As long as it worked,
The species survived.
And few would decry
Our moral infractions.

For if we had learned
To fight, steal, or spy,
Survival, had likely,
Stirred us to action.
And as was the case
In most every tribe,
The elders were there
To teach and direct us.

Converting the wild
To livestock and grain,
The mind paved the way,
Presenting solutions.
Defending one’s turf
was the work of the brain,
Cunning the skill
Thwarting hostile incursions.

And then, at some point,
We turned off the light,
As we gathered, en mass,
For our self-preservation.
Similarities embraced,
Diversity set aside,
We let go the past
And our brave isolation.

We abandoned perspective,
Vision and insight,
Whole countries aligned
Based on political notions.
Now all of our longings
And primal desires,
Are judged by the laws
Of our governing nations.

Empathic thoughts purged
From brain wave and heart beat,
Dogma dispersed
Like pandemic infection.
Common Sense, instinct,
And independent thinking,
Circumvented by commerce
And legislation.

Man to conformity,
As bee to the hive,
The brain now awaits
Its re-education.
I can’t help but wonder,
Of this role we acquire,
Are we using our heads
Or forgetting the lessons?



Michael S. True
6-1-08 edit 7-24-13