"Ask Questions" - Bahamas AI Art
©A. Derek Catalano
Question Everything
The world is a scroll, richly unrolled,
With glyphs of the ancient and stories untold.
But read not the text as the final decree,
Lest you forfeit the vision it offers the free.
For clarity sleeps in the wake of the doubt,
And understanding blooms when the certain go out.
The Call of the Interrogative
Hear the sharp music of the querying mind,
Leaving no premise unquestioned behind.
The doctrine you cherish, the law of the land,
The whisper of custom that governs the hand.
Hold it all up to the critical sun,
Until every shadow is utterly run.
Is this truth, or a mirror reflecting our fear?
Is this justice, or power defining what's clear?
Does the map truly match the terrain that we see,
Or are we just following blindly, agreeably?
Question the pillars that hold up your thought,
The lessons you’re sold and the battles you’re fought.
On Matters of Science and State
When the expert declares, with a chart and a graph,
Do not simply assent with a courteous laugh.
Ask for the data, the method, the source,
The funding, the bias, the influencing force.
Examine the variables, challenge the claim,
Lest you worship the speaker and not the pure flame.
When the statesman proclaims a necessity grim,
And asks for your silence, your trust, and your hymn,
Do not yield your reason for comfort or dread,
But ask for the cost, for the blood that is shed.
What is the agenda? What power is served?
Whose disagreement is rightly preserved?
For the right to consent is a phantom, a lie,
If the right to inquire is permitted to die.
The Personal and the Philosophical
Turn the sharp lens on the self you define,
The motives you harbour, the reasons you enshrine.
Why this belief, and why that strong reaction?
Is your agreement authentic, or merely a fraction
Of borrowed opinions, worn smooth with the years,
A shield for your failures, a cloak for your tears?
If beauty is stated, then ask, "Is it so?"
If morality rigid, then where does it go
When contexts are shifted and values collide?
Let the gentle resistance of inquiry guide.
For the issue is never as simple as plain,
It is nuanced by loss and compounded by pain.
The Art of Discernment
Do not confuse questioning with utter rejection,
It is rather the forge of intelligent selection.
To query the darkness is not to curse light,
But to sharpen the sense to distinguish the right.
The goal is not chaos, but reasoned resolve,
A mind that can sift, analyze, and evolve.
To agree is a choice, not a passive surrender,
To disagree is to act as a thoughtful defender
Of the space where true insight is carefully bred,
From the ashes of certainties needlessly fed.
So let every sentence be met with a pause,
Every conclusion weighed by its natural cause.
Epilogue: The Full Understanding
We question to know, not just to defy,
To peel back the layers and look to the sky.
For the complete understanding is not a full stop,
But the courage to let every assurance drop.
It’s the perpetual motion, the beautiful quest,
That leaves nothing unsearched, nothing fully at rest.
So take up the question, your keenest of tools,
And shatter the mirror of convenient rules.
Let the 'Why?' be the compass, the 'How?' be the sail,
And sail past the borders where dogmas prevail.
For only in asking, persistently, deep,
Can the mind its true power and integrity keep.
With glyphs of the ancient and stories untold.
But read not the text as the final decree,
Lest you forfeit the vision it offers the free.
For clarity sleeps in the wake of the doubt,
And understanding blooms when the certain go out.
The Call of the Interrogative
Hear the sharp music of the querying mind,
Leaving no premise unquestioned behind.
The doctrine you cherish, the law of the land,
The whisper of custom that governs the hand.
Hold it all up to the critical sun,
Until every shadow is utterly run.
Is this truth, or a mirror reflecting our fear?
Is this justice, or power defining what's clear?
Does the map truly match the terrain that we see,
Or are we just following blindly, agreeably?
Question the pillars that hold up your thought,
The lessons you’re sold and the battles you’re fought.
On Matters of Science and State
When the expert declares, with a chart and a graph,
Do not simply assent with a courteous laugh.
Ask for the data, the method, the source,
The funding, the bias, the influencing force.
Examine the variables, challenge the claim,
Lest you worship the speaker and not the pure flame.
When the statesman proclaims a necessity grim,
And asks for your silence, your trust, and your hymn,
Do not yield your reason for comfort or dread,
But ask for the cost, for the blood that is shed.
What is the agenda? What power is served?
Whose disagreement is rightly preserved?
For the right to consent is a phantom, a lie,
If the right to inquire is permitted to die.
The Personal and the Philosophical
Turn the sharp lens on the self you define,
The motives you harbour, the reasons you enshrine.
Why this belief, and why that strong reaction?
Is your agreement authentic, or merely a fraction
Of borrowed opinions, worn smooth with the years,
A shield for your failures, a cloak for your tears?
If beauty is stated, then ask, "Is it so?"
If morality rigid, then where does it go
When contexts are shifted and values collide?
Let the gentle resistance of inquiry guide.
For the issue is never as simple as plain,
It is nuanced by loss and compounded by pain.
The Art of Discernment
Do not confuse questioning with utter rejection,
It is rather the forge of intelligent selection.
To query the darkness is not to curse light,
But to sharpen the sense to distinguish the right.
The goal is not chaos, but reasoned resolve,
A mind that can sift, analyze, and evolve.
To agree is a choice, not a passive surrender,
To disagree is to act as a thoughtful defender
Of the space where true insight is carefully bred,
From the ashes of certainties needlessly fed.
So let every sentence be met with a pause,
Every conclusion weighed by its natural cause.
Epilogue: The Full Understanding
We question to know, not just to defy,
To peel back the layers and look to the sky.
For the complete understanding is not a full stop,
But the courage to let every assurance drop.
It’s the perpetual motion, the beautiful quest,
That leaves nothing unsearched, nothing fully at rest.
So take up the question, your keenest of tools,
And shatter the mirror of convenient rules.
Let the 'Why?' be the compass, the 'How?' be the sail,
And sail past the borders where dogmas prevail.
For only in asking, persistently, deep,
Can the mind its true power and integrity keep.
©A. Derek Catalano/Gemini
