ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

To be or not…?

A certain doctor we all know
has shared with us a tale of woe
about his dad’s extremely odd
dismantled, reassembled bod.

But pondering this anecdote,
I wonder what it might denote…
it raises thoughts quite topical
of matters philosophical.

“To be or not to be,” wrote Will-
iam Shakespeare, and today this still
remains the question…undefined,
despite the wonders of the mind.

So much is artificial now
it seems that pretty soon, somehow,
we’ll go too far and lose the key
to knowing what it means to “be”.

This existential musing’s fraught
with problems, as we’ve all been taught
that bodies are so very frail,
and, given time, they have to fail.

But muscle, sinew, skin and bone
can now be made or cloned or grown,
so we don’t have to get the blues
when bits of us just blow a fuse.

They’ll knock up something in its stead
to fix a hip, a heart or head
with this and that, and soon we’ve got
a body made of…who knows what?

And when they can replace it all
because they have the wherewithal
to take a spare part from a shelf,
then what, I ask, is left of self?

Perhaps we’ll end up just a brain
residing in some weird domain…
a dusty, ancient pickle jar
with labels saying who we are.

And we’ll communicate with thoughts
through interfaced computer ports,
while plugged right in for grease and lube
through lots and lots of plastic tube.

But time to stop this raving on…
when that day comes I’ll be long gone,
and, with my ageing data banks,
for that I give my heartfelt thanks.

© David Campbell, 2011

I'll be long gone too, and also thankful. Another terrific poem, as always.

Sci fi becoming close to reality - scary stuff - and me too - I won't be around or at least not in my current molecular form

Great poem David - you have immortalized our Dr. Stephen - he who walks in the darkness of the nightside.

Very clever David. Much enjoyed your take on the doctor's world.

Heather

One question, Dave. Is a clone considered a cordon copy and will it draw a carbon tax, making iteconomically unviable to feed and thus keep?

Great take on the subject mate, and as always, cleverly written.

Keats

Oh, the pain, the pain...

(Doctor Smith, wasn't it? I loved that show!)

Another terrific poem David, loved it eh!

Stephen, yes it was Dr. Smith from 'Lost in Space' 'warning, warning'

Very clever David.

Terry

G'day David,

Brilliant! I found, on second run through, I had misread a line. The first time I read the line which says

"They'll knock up something in it's stead" I read "In it's shed"

From my experience of Aussie males and their 'sheds', - the first way I read it was funnier. I can imagine my old man up in his shed, trying to create a spare part from some junk that is piled up (neatly, mind you) against the wall or stacked in boxes on the shelves. It is all good material, usually the left overs from some project or other. He is pretty handy but a functioning kidney may just be too big a project.

Thanks to all for the comments. Much appreciated!

Neil: Carbon tax? And here's me thinking that people have been talking about carpet tacks! Reckon I might give this cloning trick a try, then...there's box of carbon paper somewhere and I could do with a new right leg.

Stephen: Yes, I well remember Dr Zachary Smith and his double-act with the robot. They don't make shows like that any more!

Zondrae: You're right, it's funnier. A shed is precisely where a bloke might knock up a spare part, and maybe in the future they'll produce DIY kits for replacing kidneys. But it could easily be a woman doing the repairs. Do women have sheds?

Cheers
David