THE SCEPTIC’S VIEW

       Just consciousness is miracle enough,
       So never mind that telepathic stuff:
       The healing at a distance, reading minds,
       Experimenting done with double blinds,

       Or sniffing out of subtle psychic scents
       And then forecasting yet-to-be-events,
       Communicating with the Other Side,
       And sensing spirits with whom we’re allied.

       Perhaps all that, or some of it, is true,
       But how should that affect the things we do?
       In this world we must rationally proceed
       By letting evidence and logic lead.

            Should mystical become empirical,
            We’ll have no fear of being gullible.

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