Tiny Green Men (Unfinished)

In orbit around the star KSR-10,
Is a small planet peopled by tiny green men.
Not little green men of the Hollywood sort,
But tiny green men, maybe three inches short.

A society based on most ancient tradition,
Its people make conquest their corporate mission.
Manifest Destiny of warriors savage,
Invasion of distant worlds, fallen and ravaged.

Throughout the ages, away soared the ships,
Bearing crusaders on conquering trips.
The fires of adventure within their souls burning,
Out to the stars they went, never returning.

Their fate was the source of much feared superstition,
Only partly allayed by their mystic religion.
Had they found their reward, by heroic deeds fated,
And reached worlds beatific, as holy writ stated?

Or had they been thrust into burial, base,
Tiny green corpses, the blackness of space?
Had some other fate overtaken these warriors,
Perhaps become prey to unspeakable horrors?

... and that's where it ends.

I found this poem written in an old school notebook, marked up with references to Star Wars, Frederick Jackson Turner, and the Poetic Edda.

Comfort

W. Somerset Maugham:

I can imagine no more comfortable frame of mind for the conduct of life than a humorous resignation.

Reflection on Society

We as beasts are wild by nature,
   Prone to every sort of vice.
Character requires training,
   Lack of which extracts its price.

This was an attempt to write something that you might find in a Primer for Young Men a century ago. However, they likely would have used more complex words, as at that time, educated young men could be expected to understand them. (Wow, I sound am old.)

Eyes Wide Open

George MacDonald, Lilith:

Whose work is it but your own to open your eyes? But indeed the business of the universe is to make such a fool out of you that you will know yourself for one, and begin to be wise.

A Teleological Notion

Communication over distances has advanced from writing letters, through the development of the telegraph and telephone, to now simply speaking a text message into the ubiquitous smartphone.

Entertainment once involved traveling to a theater for a play or a movie, still later traveling to the local video store, whereas now streaming video is available wherever one happens to be.

It seems that the inexorable end of this technological society is to do everything possible without requiring any movement.

Iron Law of Bureaucracy

Jerry Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy:

In any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. In all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions.

My Writing Process

I get in close, I spit and shine
   I agonize on every word
I never take that one step back
   To see I’m polishing a turd