Gedankenexperiment Love Song

If I were trapped in Mary’s tomb
With its television, or a Chinese room,
Or Plato’s cave, its damp and gloom,
             How I’d miss,
                     I’d miss you.

And if you believed the Earth were flat,
Or if you killed Schrodinger’s pet cat,
Or if you were just a brain in a vat,
             Still I’d kiss,
                     I’d kiss you.

See how your qualia can represent
The million-year-old photons sent,
Instead of the canopy topping your tent,
             From the stars above,
                     Above you.

By every zombie who cannot feel,
By the tortoise who bit Achilles’ heel,
By Theseus’ reconstructed keel,
             O!, how I love,
                     I love you!

Daniel Galef


If you have any comments on this poem, Daniel Galef would be pleased to hear from you.