What a Flock Knows That It Can’t

Germs, genes, and chance make most beasts,
But for us add mind as well.
And what do we mean by mind?

Our skulls are jars with pierced lids.
Mind is in each one of us
Like a squid arm in a jar.

Yes, you have a mind. You’re mind
And you’re jar. Then the jar breaks.
Then the mind goes its own way.

Could be it learned things from you,
Snatched a thing or two it craved
In you. That’s your gift to mind.

We all get to play. Most all.
Mind goes on. But that squid-jar
Pic is not quite apt. Try this—

A small thing lives in a reef.
It adds a bit of stone paste.
It dies. The reef grows and lives.

Or this—a flock of dark birds,
Each with sharp eyes and real brains,
Reels and sculpts waves from swift points.

The birds have their built-in rules,
And each bird has its own goals,
But who knows what the waves know?