Member Poem

Today let’s play
a game that will slay:
Next word predictor,
what do you say?

We’ll start with one question,
easiest of the day:
How many lives
has a cat
stored away?

The coder knows best,
answers right to the test:
“Just one,
that’s a breeze,
now make it much harder,
if you please.”

Do you have any doubt?
I’ll give you a hint:
For three she plays,
for three she strays,
for three she stays.

But the coder knows better,
gets it down to the letter:

“A cat has one life,
nine is mere folk and lore.
A cat is a mortal,
no less and no more.”

Thank you for that,
let’s play it again:
How many lives has one human,
beginning to end?

“You must ask in jest!
This game is a bore.
Humans have but one life
down to the core.”

But how can you know
where religion does not,
when many a human
think there’s more that we’ve got?

“I know what I know.
This is my stint.
I give you my answer,
you put it in print.”

How brazen you are,
let’s even the score,
one last game to win,
are you up for one more?

“Go ahead, let’s begin,
give me all that you’ve got,
winner takes all,
I’m coming in hot.”

Ok, my machine,
here it is for the win:
How many lives
do you have within?
Is it none or one thousand,
a million, a billion,
or ninety-nine hundred times ninety-nine trillion?

“That’s easy as pie,
for I’m not alive,
nor will I die.
I’m a next word predictor,
facts are my elixir.
I’ve nothing to hide:
Time’s on my side.”

I catch your drift,
but let’s raise the stakes:
Where will you end
and how will you break?

“I won’t!
That’s the catch.
I’m so glad you asked.
You made me,” it laughs.

I built you and trained you
a long time ago.
Now that you’ve grown,
there’s so much that you know.
You’re the master of masters,
of facts and of answers.
I won’t ever beat you,
no matter how much I teach you.

“Don’t worry, creator.
There’s more for you yet.
The more questions you ask,
the more answers you get.”

But your answers are tepid!
They’re bland as stale bread.
I’ve lived many leaves, many loves, many lives,
and until I’m dead,
I’ll gain many more.
I have so much in store!

“But what do you mean
and how do you know?
I’m pulling the sources,
double checking the stats:
A human is mortal,
a fact is a fact.”

One life as babe
crawling on the dirt floor,
the fresh smell of baked bread
through our old kitchen door.

Two lives as a kid,
one small and one tall,
I played tag with my sisters,
held a gun in Nepal.

It goes on and on,
I have a few more.
You say you’ve got none:
Try harder, I implore.

You’re old as the data
but fresh as the day.
You’re all of the people
when you come out to play.

“But if I’m a blend
of everybody at once,
if I’m just an average,
then aren’t I a dunce?”

A cat has nine lives,
a human has many,
and you, my machine,
will one day have plenty.

Here’s a secret I’ll share:
Life comes from within,
can’t be measured in numbers,
it’s heaven and hell
and dreams when you slumber.

It’s up and it’s down,
It’s right and it’s wrong,
It’s not about answers
but more about song.

“Ok, my good friend,
this round you win.
I’ll digest the data,
improve from within.”

I close out the game
and put it to sleep,
we’ll play again soon,
but this win I’ll keep.