Candide’s lament

We dance in circles, hands palmate,

like marionettes with heads nutate.

Opinions we’re loathe to update;

spewed out in public tongues vulgate.

748

Our world view we pixelate.

Those different we invalidate.

Those like us we accommodate;

reluctant to desegregate.

752

Resistant to acculturate

and biases deconcentrate.

False gods we don’t deconsecrate.

Humanities depreciate.

756

Our Mother Earth we fast ablate.

Wreck anything that’s half sensate.

Through telescopes we now spectate

and seek spheres where we can instate.

760

Our plan to build spacecraft peltate

and from our globe flee festinate;

in lengthy convoys we’ll tailgate

to find new orbs to mutilate.

764