One Thought Leading to Another   

by Ernie McCray

When I think of one thing
that one thing,
especially if it’s something
that makes me cringe,
leads me to think
of something a bit more promising.
I mean,
for example,
when I think about
climate change,
my mind sets in motion
dreams of gentle rains
or if the thought is about
the armed conflict in Ukraine
I wish war,
like old soldiers,
would just slowly fadeaway
and if my mind wanders
to something like
artificial intelligence,
AI, per se,
my knees weaken
as I see intellect and truths and actualities
being cast to the wind,
giving in to the whims
of AI’s algorithms
that don’t give a damn
as it rapidly gains the
upper-hand
regarding whether
humanity survives
or comes to an end
while a huge percentage of the world’s populations
wrap themselves in their religions
as the most heinous of frightful sins
go untended,
excused by ancient beliefs
that, for hundreds-of-thousands years or so,
have gone unchallenged.

That’s the way of the world, though,
and because that’s so
there are
so many things
I find myself thinking about
like claims
that some candidates are too old to run,
which makes me have to ask at what age
does being too old begin
and what if the ancient one
is pretty adept at getting essential matters done
and that thought directs me
to one of those candidates
who, whenever I see his image lately,”
I visualize him
winning a tall tale contest
wearing an orange jumpsuit
and leg irons
in Leavenworth, Kansas,
in a military brig,
payback for the traitor that he is
underneath all the whining
about an election being rigged
and I see, in this,
poetic justice
being lived
through immigrants seeking safety
crossing a bridge
to a wall-less land.

On that note
I end my thoughts
in a spirit
of love and hope.

But there are more thoughts coming.