Poem: Shadetree Mechanic Release 1.1

Some don’t go to school.
It’s make do or do without,
Root hog or die.
You learn what you can from others
And from whatever books you find:
“A student of all things with no master”.
Some become jackleg carpenters,
While some are ministers, self-ordained.
Me, I’m a shade-tree mechanic
Of the quantum kind.

Science started out tryin’ to understand God
Through examinin’ Creation.
And some took to explainin’ Creation
By how they understood God.
“As it was in the beginning,
“So shall it be at the end.”
So let’s pop the hood
And see if we can figure out
What makes this fucker go!

Now let’s examine God by his works:
It’s plain to see that pain and sufferin’,
Evil, madness, and plain stupidity
Are not in short supply.

Now is God bad?
Then how to explain a sunlit day
Or the smell of a baby’s hair?
And if He is good,
Then why is there so much bad?

Are we being punished
Or being trained?
Is Satan so strong that God must yield?
Or does God simply not care
About a planet full of sinners?

I reckon not.

A few hundred years ago a Sufi said
“I am God,” meanin’
“I am God, You are God
“That Tree over there is God
“As is the Sun above Us all
“And the Earth beneath Our feet.”
I think he was onto something.
According to the Bible
We are made in His image.
Maybe everything is in His image,
Maybe Everything is God.

The Buddhist calls the world an illusion,
And holds that sensation traps us,
Keeps us from true freedom.
What if he is partly right
And also partly wrong?

What if God made the Universe
Of Himself,
By Himself,
For Himself,
For fun.

What if there is no reward,
No punishment.
What if He just wants to see how good it gets,
And how bad it gets
And He don’t care who gets the bad
And who gets the good
‘Cause Both are Him.

What if all of human experience
Is just God calibrating the Engine?

What if we are God’s test drivers
Takin’ Creation for a spin?

What if the world is not a trap or a snare
But the finest toy that ever was
That ever could be?

Is “Do as ye will” then the whole of the Law?

Maybe, from God’s point of view.
But we’re at best sparks from the Fire.
For us I think the Law is:
“Do as ye will – but be ready to pay for it”.
Jump off a skyscraper if you will
But expect to splatter.
Do unto others as you will
And see what they do unto you.

As best I can follow my Chilton’s
With both shoes on,
One interpretation of the specs
Says that there are many Universes,
Not just one.
What if Everything happens Somewhere?
What if we actually do it all,
Live and die in every possible way?

And what if every person,
Every critter, every thing that ever was
Or ever could have been
Was doin’ the same?

And what if the Laws of Nature
Are only local ordinances.
Suppose that there is a place where pi is 3
Just like the legislature wanted.
Or where there ain’t a light-speed barrier
Holding us to one end of Creation?
Or what if Middle Earth really exists
Along with Krypton
And Atlantis.
Somewhere, Elsewhere.

Now wouldn’t that be a show?

We know we’re just a speck in Eternity.

Suppose Eternity is just a Page,
One of many in a Book,
That is one of many in a Library.
Each Book a continuin’ saga
Written by an infinite horde of monkeys.
No editing required, ‘cause anything goes.
And each Book published and read by God Hisself.

So from God’s point of view
We ain’t lightning,
Jagged lines across the sky,
Finally fadin’ into darkness,
But fireballs,
Sprayin’ sparks every which way.
Some sparks fade as soon as they’re born;
Some go on, branchin’ and dancin’
‘Til the sky is filled with light
Forever and ever, Amen.

Entropy as a joy ride.

A pretty idea for sure,
But being pretty don’t make it right.
Science teaches us to test our ideas,
To see if we can bring something out of them,
Something we can test to prove what’s truth
And what’s just pipedreams.
How can we test this idea?

Beats me.

There may be a Hell of a great universe next door
But you cain’t get there from here
Or even peek through the windows
To see if anyone’s to home.

So this pretty idea
Is just so much pipe smoke.
Still, a pipe can be right comforting
On a cold winter night.


04/27/2005