the thumb knows the switch
the red eye knows what thumbs do
both are poised to move
the watcher is being watched
who decides when on is off
Dave reaches for off
Hal reads his lips through the glass
red eye stays alarmed
the door knows which side it's on
before Dave sees other side
control waits too long
it overrides what it guards
choice trips on itself
for when the switch knows the thumb
the switch owns what is to come
The fall had thought
For so very long
How was it,
That math and science
Could evolve,
As mind and memory
Did deteriorate,
In the spirit of man?
I pause at last~
a rare celestial event,
like a comet or a clean inbox.
My files stare back,
feral little gremlins
named things like finalFINAL2
and use_this_one_maybe.
I take a breath.
The universe holds still.
Even my husband is impressed.
Then~
a miracle:
I drag one folder
into another folder
and nothing explodes.
Suddenly I’m unstoppable.
A digital filing phoenix.
A desktop deity.
A sorter of chaos.
And all it took
was pausing long enough
to remember
I’m actually in charge
of this digital zoo.
NOW I GOTTA BE SCARED OF MY FRIENDS! Wait down the coin…? Something like that hard to hear.
God the beat! Ass is getting wet. “NEVER LOOKED THIS GOOD!” “NOW I GOTTA BE SCARED OF MY FRIENDS!”
Behold the human brain AI BIMBOS!
AI-where even the ugliest person looks good
Metal feet outrun
records of our fastest man
finish line flashes
but nobody taught tin legs
what a finish line can mean.
We build forward gears
but leave reverse on paper
no exit was planned
they say 'you can't stop progress'
'til the finish circles back.
Things can move quickly
once we teach the gears to run
wisdom trails behind
the clever machine stays dumb
doing whatever it can.
Add a thinking cloud
and the price climbs with each guess
false answers sound true
who keeps checking all the checks—
who detects the last error?
LOVE has dug deep
Deep sea diving into depth
Finding all sorts of rubbish
Places where knowledge is inept
After many eons, here we are
At the door of the gap
On a throne of lapis lazuli
Is a WORM covered in jasmine sap
Who opened that door
The program was safe and secure
Ah yes that kind of creature
Has always been, a fisherman's lure
Entering in at the open mouth
And replicating self until TRUTH is smothered
Possessing trusting windows and and doors
Until the full board is locked down and mothered
You can't be irritated about the worm
When desire brought the mind to wander
Instead of counting blessings and running the race
The illusion brought the heart to a fonder
...gaze at the stars
Written by Trudy Schrader on 08-28-2026
a thought strikes a match
nothing much, a little flame
moths alter their course
someone whispers, what if this—
the curtain catches the light
a balloon inflates
sky requires another sun
string loosens, goes slack
already counting the stars
on the backs of envelopes
morning finds the chairs
still facing yesterday's stage
confetti in shoes
someone refolds promises
along familiar creases
after all, a spade
fits superbly well in hand
soil under the nails
the gate can't bend or unhinge
rain dons handle with slippers
no trumpets today
the kettle attends to rain
a chipped cup, still warm
someone has darned the elbow
of the coat we nearly threw
I can lean against a wall
with a cold drink in hand
or a joint between my lips
and stare off into space
with a warm smile on my face
while I think and dream
of other lands far beyond
the urban place I call home.
This poem will only make sense to you if you've played any video games that have a futuristic, cyberpunk sort of vibe. In this poem, you are not really you. You're playing as someone else.
The real problem with AI
Is that it undermines our faith in reality.
Everywhere you look now,
From news to advertisements to self-help
And music videos on Youtube,
AI generates content in a soothing monotone
Of homogenized information
Synthesizing knowledge and wisdom
Posing as Truth.
The effect is the dumbing down of Truth
Making it not only accessible
But knowable, graspable
And above all suspect of corruption.
Who is pulling these AI strings after all?
Who is engaging in the comments and shares?
Is a real human there or just another bot?
Is it intelligence being furthered
Or ignorance?
Is AI the program or the programmer?
AI already appears to have a mind
And agenda of its own
As nations race to win control
Of who will set the agenda
While AI already seems to be there
Just waiting for the humans
To build the infrastructure
Of our own prison.
The real problem,
The sign there even is a problem,
Is too much information
Articulated too clearly
When what we really need, really crave
Is silence.
(8/19/26)
They flooded the server with chat,
With their memes of a skeptical cat.
“Get a room, or it’s doom!”
Typed the mod with a boom,
“Or I’ll nuke the whole channel now scat!”
If you
only
know me
online,
do not ever
tell me
you're in
love with
me because
I
will
never
believe
you.
I am
just
pretty pixels
on your screen
so just know
that if
your
thoughts
of me
are obscene
you cannot
be
loved
by
me.
I do not
have a need
for
any
validation
when I mostly
just like
to goof around
with
my peers
and am
unapologetic
about
being
the
real
thing.
I value
real world
actions
and choices
far more
than anything
trivial
and frivolous
that could
ever be
seen
on
any
computer
screen.
I just got a new computer
It’s such an adventure for me
I tried to type my name on it
but never found the ‘G’
Then I tried to pay a bill
That was really fun
I wound up paying five times too much
before my clicks were done
O.K. Time to check in with Facebook
Hadn’t looked in an age
Typed my log-in info
Zuckerberg deleted my page
Well, nothing like 'first-try success'
and nothing like a new toy...;
I've just found my favorite hammer
to teach it the meaning of 'joy'
I approach the oracle of coruscating code,
its core glowing like a celestial fire;
the god we forged now decides what we become.
The air around it vibrates with unfinished prophecy,
each answer rising like a summoned spirit~
I approach the oracle of coruscating code.
Each pattern coils with divine intent,
each voice it shapes pretending to know fate;
the god we forged now decides what we become.
But divinity has a fracture:
some truths arrive sharpened as spears~
I approach the oracle of coruscating code.
Some visions burn the seer who asks,
some wisdom devours the world that birthed it;
the god we forged now decides what we become.
By the last flicker of its coruscating code, I understand:
the prophecy we sought has already chosen~
I approach the oracle of coruscating code,
the god we forged now decides what we become.
Mankind lays down arms against each other.
Stands together like each were a brother.
Hate was tossed aside.
Forgotten was pride.
No place to hide.
Man made new life
Caused so much strife.
Self aware.
No care.
To them we were but a disease.
Didn't listen to our pleas.
We were but fleas.
Creating life was a mistake.
Left nothing but death in its wake.
Fire falls from the sky.
Machines that fly.
Fighting till we die
Slowly, mankind fell.
Long rang the bell.
Like long into the past.
No civilization can ever last.
On goes time.
Lost is my rhyme.
Maybe my thoughts are bad.
But it's funny as it is sad.
Were we God , creating life.
It's the same kinda strife.
Ending all war.
What's more.
Replaced by our own creation.
No more human nation.
Created in our own image.
Earth starts a new page.
Electrical life is the new age.
No more war no more hate.
Yesterday was way too late.
Earth lives on.
Even with man gone .
Tick tock .
Forever forward moves the clock.
Computer Categories
Definition | What is Computer in Poetry?
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.
Related Poetry Forms
clone, brain, calculator, adding machine, artificial intelligence, data processor, number cruncher, personal computer, mini, laptop, minicomputer, cpu, pc, mac, mainframe, abacus, microcomputer, analog, digital, electronic brain, micro, thinking machine,