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---
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)
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