---
title: "Data's Poetry"
category:
- star-trek-tng
- star-trek
abstract: Poems by Commnander Data
date: 2023-11-16T23:30:00+01:00
draft: false
---

{{<img-pull-right "st-tng-data.png">}}
Data, our Operations Officer aboard USS Enterprise was a Soong-type android.
He was sure that his goal in life was to learn what it means to Human; to experience the world like his cremates.
One attempt to achieve that was by writing poetry.
Below are two poems he wrote as a result.

## A Sunset Bloom

Beginning part of the poem is considered to be lost.

> [...]
> "Then we sat on the sand for some time and observed  
> How the oceans that cover the world were perturbed  
> By the tides from the orbiting moon overhead  
> ‘How relaxing the sound of the waves is,’ you said  
> 
> I began to expound upon tidal effects  
> When you asked me to stop, looking somewhat perplexed  
> So I did not explain why the sunset turns red  
> And we watched the occurrence in silence instead.”  

(from S06E25)

## Ode to Spot

Spot was cat Data kept aboard the USS Enterprise.
This poem was written in his honor.

> "Felis catus is your taxonomic nomenclature,  
> An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature;  
> Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses  
> Contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses.  
> 
> I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations,  
> A singular development of cat communications  
> That obviates your basic hedonistic predilection  
> For a rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection.  
> 
> A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents;  
> You would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance.  
> And when not being utilized to aid in locomotion,  
> It often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.  
> 
> O Spot, the complex levels of behavior you display  
> Connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array.  
> And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,  
> I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend."

(from S06E08)