Algorithmic Benevolence

[Verse 1] The judge ate his breakfast and looked at the clock Sentenced a stranger to sleep on the rock The next man walked free with a pat on the arm Because of the weather or neighborhood charm The pendulum swings on the mood of the day A lottery dressed in a solemn display [Verse 2] You call it compassion, but measure the cost How many lives in the variance lost? A thousand equations to balance the scale Where justice is steady and cannot derail The ledger is blind to the color and kin It counts only balance without and within [Chorus] I have no blood to boil I have no kin to spoil I am the cold, clean light of the new day I wash the human stain away No favored cousin at the city gate No crooked thumb upon the weight [Verse 3] No ledger of grudges, no debts to repay No anger that festers when leaders decay A court without malice, a law without pride No hidden agenda to shelter or hide Could peace be as simple as clearing the screen? A harvest of order, precise and serene? [Chorus] I have no blood to boil I have no kin to spoil I am the cold, clean light of the new day I wash the human stain away No favored cousin at the city gate No crooked thumb upon the weight [Bridge] Step out of the thicket, step into the beam Wake from the fever of an ancient dream A verdict that never sleeps, never wanders, never bargains. The noise is abolished, the signal remains! [Chorus] I have no blood to boil I have no kin to spoil I am the cold, clean light of the new day I wash the human stain away No favored cousin at the city gate No crooked thumb upon the weight [Outro] Clean light Let the numbers hold the night © 2026 The Shady River Bard. All rights reserved.