Uncertain

Shall I compose a poem on serious issues in our lives
Perhaps the illusory nature of time, the non-existence of the self.
Or of love, always at the forefront of human concerns.
Alas, there are so many odes and sonnets by poets more able
That I search for some less crowded place at this writing table

Among my life’s many mysteries have been dreams
Where old acquaintances drop by, some repeatedly
Chatting in ways that made sense or so I thought
One insisted that reports of his death were incorrect
What explanation for that mistake I no longer recollect

Often I dreamed me in some frightening location
Precarious and fearful on some high beam or bridge
Or lost in downtown Chicago or Detroit or Jersey City
With only a vague idea of whom I’m seeking or exactly where
And no fruitful thoughts about how I can travel there

Doctor Freud may help me understand some of the content
The tall city buildings that could stand for the penis I suppose
And perhaps a volcano or a cavern that might suggest a vagina
It is true that sexual matters often came to mind
So that symbols of this sort were lurking there to find

Daydreams might be included in this search now underway
Odd chains of thoughts that seem to lead one to another
And ruminations about topics in my philosophical wanderings
Which rarely have led to insights useful to guide my life
Or to better relations with neighbors or my wife

Consider all the hype about artificial intelligence technology
Demonstrations that show amazing capabilities and potential
Calling these AI products machines doesn’t seem quite right
Robots of a sort may be more accurate by way of terminology
Perhaps they will acquire their own distinctive individuality

Might they become successors of humans on our planet
Able to manage the alarming complexities we face
Thus preventing Earth from burning up or blowing apart