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Intelligentsia

I think about intelligence
     And wonder why we think our due
     Is sanctioned by our own IQ
That natural inheritance
     Compels us by unbending laws
     To evolutionary cause
That beggars to irrelevance
     The truth that brains can be a threat
     That make it easy to forget
The most compelling evidence
     That intellect may well provide
     A rationale for venal pride
Displacing sounder temperaments
     With logical proficiency
     Ignoring self-deficiency
And cultivates intolerance
     With vanity incredulous
     And tidy, hidden prejudice
That blithely leads to negligence
     Denying those less capable
     In contexts inescapable

I much prefer the elegance
     Of caring for the other guy
     Of answering a helpless cry
Of principled benevolence
     That intellect cannot be taught
     Beyond the wit of reasoned thought

I think about intelligence
That natural inheritance
That beggars to irrelevance
The most compelling evidence
Displacing sounder temperaments
And cultivates intolerance
That blithely leads to negligence

I much prefer the elegance
Of principled benevolence



Written July 5, 2018

Copyright © Brian Densham

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