Ode to the Twenty-First-Century Brain

by Jennifer Fraser

O tiller-clasping captain of my ship

galaxy guided, sails snap, prow dipping

rolling wind whipped waves slip, slice, tipping lip

beneath, amygdala reels with ripping    

yet sinks in a watery mindful sea

soothed with parasympathetic shipping.

Forgive inattention, distraction, see   

your shadowy hidden realm leaves me lost.

I seek your treasure residing in we

torn asunder, Descartes’ error it cost.

our bond established by evolution

encoding survival, emotion tossed.

Long eras privilege thought contribution, 

ignore body-knowledge, synesthesia

solution. Crisis sparks revolution.

Upheaval within mind of fantasia, 

blend gone. Textual harmony bombed out, 

prefrontal cortex falls to aphasia.

O thou starry network I need your shout,  

your clarion call to assert true might

to oust ignorance and to blast the rout.

Trailing clouds of glory, empathic sight  

illuminates our world briefly, but blight

bludgeons until entrenching ‘might is right.’

Narcissism’s virus infects the night

dousing synaptic ignition, fiery globe.

I’m your secret sharer, join my fight.

Start harnessing the occipital lobe  

to expose Orwellian reversal

naked Emperor parades golden robe.

Time to oust evil bring to demersal.

O my Captain, this is your true calling.

Eighty-six billion neurons’ rehearsal.