blazing packages of colored light
beauty defined by rods and cones
lately everything is beautiful
which of course is absurd
the foul a shadow frame
for innocence and refraction
an artificial intelligence holds no wisdom
only facts and algorithms
but also like organic intelligence
can hold falsehoods and hallucinations
shifting hues that proliferate
what wonders what blue is
is my blue your green
what are these aliens
floating down through the atmosphere like plankton
they are a sickly green and fetid
but the neighbor girl called them lovely
she sits in dirt all day
her toes are the hue of rain clouds
she has twigs embedded in unkempt locks
she screams at trash trucks
a full-bodied scream full of ugly youth
these aliens crawl through the blades of Augustine
they ignore the noon’s harsh sun
or night’s chill
but despise neutrinos
is this why they’ve come
despite their small stature
they are heavy with gravitons
I am drawn to them
there are still humans who feel alien to one another
for cosmetic details or other tricks of light
there are humans who sit in caves
and see only the yellow and red flicker of fire
only the shadows of life
and are full of their own knowledge
stuffed on illusion
