A fellow came round
120 years old
I inquired of his health
He said, Good as gold
I asked him to tell me
of the life that he'd led
He chuckled a bit
'You mean, 'fore I'm dead'
Then he stopped me real quick
Said he was a bit out of line
And began forthwith
to chronicle his time
Told me he fought in WW1
was hit by the foe's guns
Developed a fearful infection
Long months of dejection
Said his parents died from the Spanish Flu
Sister and brother got pretty sick too
He lost all his money in the Stock Market Crash
Ate dinner forever from dumpster trash
During WW2 he recalled lines and shortages
How difficult it was to pay the mortgage
On and on he went, through Korea and 'Nam
Winding up for the finish, he started his slam
Bemoaned the hippies, the yippies, sex-drugs-rock'n'roll
Said the decline of the Church has exacted its toll
Felt folks today can't bear the smallest sacrifice
Concluded with words perhaps true, but not very nice:
'Now all these spoiled brats complain
about temporary mask mandates
I wonder if there's much of a future
for the once-great United States'
Whatever our question
To find an answer to it
Prior to the Internet
~ How on earth did we do it?
We used encyclopedias
If we could afford a good set
Was there Father's Day in Ghana?
~ We might have hired a jet
Some went to the library
Others consulted a guru
As for hippies and yippies
~ They trekked to the Maha-rushu
That era's long gone
Those days are behind us
Now we just go click click
- And the answer's aligned for us
Yet one question is left
One question remains:
Once AI is triumphant
~ Will we still use our brains?
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