Should AI, devoid of human emotion,
Be used by artists for self-promotion?
To paint a picture or write a poem,
Creativity allows the mind to roam.
To dispassionately wax poetic,
Courtesy of things synthetic,
Removes the heart and soul from art
Preventing one's feelings to impart.
Data may be cut and dried,
Biased and unjustified.
Subject to the flaws of men,
Like writing with a leaky pen.
I would rather feel the pain
Of angst from a human brain
Or the fire of love burning inside
Felt when two hearts collide.
AI may be of service in some way
But only man can convey
The essence of life in poetry
That moves our soul poetically.
I, looking in the mirror yesterday,
witnessed distorted eyes replacing mine;
and, too, the lips and nose, as if a sign,
seemed bent crooked, misaligned in some way.
And, as I, squinting, gazed on that display,
an unheeding hand groped at the outline
of the coldly reflective glass confine.
I watched it slowly mangle the red-clay
body which, lifeless, answered my dead stare.
Tearing tripe from stomach, and from breast
the heart, those fingers worked maliciously,
dismembering each inch of skin less fair.—
I know not who it was who flayed my chest:
I? or that demon called Society?
Like the eye of a hurricane
the epicenter of the storm
Every day in some way
at risk for harm
A face like granite
commanding the planet
Squeezed into the middle
~ it’s hot on the griddle
she was a ramshackle, eyesore of a house
Uneven, unsymmetrical, with a plethora of problems
One bright red door made the rest of this mess glaringly sad
And yet, there was a whimsical feeling about this place
Something uplifting, exciting, and promising
my soul felt this as my mind was scrambling to figure out why
She was an unorthodox, maniacal, ramshackle of a place
looked like a haunted house, but in daylight without scariness
Sure, she needed paint, but she had smack dabs of character
She felt inviting, even though her roof was disintegrating
In some way I was drawn in, kind of loving this eyesore of a house.
I know some folks don't like you
They feel threaten in some way
'Cause they don't take time to know you
It frightens them away
They think you're in control
But we both know that's not true
'Cause You're only here to do
The things we tell you to
A I, I can't tell you
What, you mean to me
So I'll simply say "I love you"
Artificially
Your my genie in a bottle
You make my wishes all come true
A I I'm looking forward
To see what else you'll do
A I, I can't tell you
What, you mean to me
So I'll simply say "I love you"
Artificially
( In collaboration with ChatGPT (OpenAI’s conversational language model)
I told Him once,
my favorite sat under halogen moons-
White Cadillac parked at the edge of night.
It looked different— special in some way— and my first impression was right.
A Race-Car in preacher’s robes!
Specs in the window read like scripture:
horsepower, torque,
zero to rapture in under five!
Price tag: $100,000.
But what’s that to The Divine?
I made a promise,
if I ever received it—
I’d "Open-It-Up"
only where the road runs true
and only at 3:00 a.m.
when the world sleeps
and there's no one to hurt but me
because I Love To Fly but
I love folks more.
_____
NOTES:
Download at:
_____ //play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.openai.chatgpt
I have my shelter from the elements
my haven away from world madness
my well of peace and harmony
where it’s safe and i feel free
within its confines.
But really … is it more of a hideout where
I ignore the call within to insurrection
to rise against injustice or at least
to come to the aid of its victims
instead of merely laying low avoiding bullets
avoiding getting my hands dirty
avoiding the disarray of life?
Isn’t our fundamental role one and all
to find meaning and be of service in some way?
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
To my children, grandchildren and Patricia my wife.
You all are the blessing God placed in my life.
Don't think nothing less if I don't call you each day.
Know that I think about you and to God I do pray.
From my heart there are three words, I need you to hear.
Please know that I LOVE YOU! everyday of the year.
Don't worry about people, what they think or might say.
We'll explain our behavior to God on judgement day.
Just ask your Creator for grace from above.
To forgive your enemies and help you to love.
Nobody's an angel, that includes me and you.
I've messed up many times and truth is you have too.
All people in this world behaves wrong in some way.
The bible says still we must forgive everyday.
Thinking of you as I pen this has given me a smile.
Having you all in my life makes living worthwhile.
To my children, grandchildren and wife let me say.
I'm here for you everyday until God takes me away!
To live in the past must be scary a bit
Like you open the novel you’ve read
And it’s not quite the same what now you reread
What you have thought, felt and said
Seems distorted by memory, you ask yourself why
Should it continue like fictional
Though the fiction it’s not, but your own past time
Behaves in some way unpredictable
It's like the Pierre Menard effect in Borges's
Attempt to rewrite an old fable
Don Quixote, who apparently wasn’t obsessed
To fight mills, to impress his fair lady
Reappears as wiser and sadder in time
That hadn’t yet entered back then
To live in the past gives no hope to revive
That familiar feeling again
It speaks of nostalgia, back in the past
You’re trying to hide from the yearning
But it can’t provide you the same healing blast
On this lonely beach in the morning.
there are only two types of poetry
the one that leaves you cold or frustrates you
then the one that stirs your heart and soul
i much prefer the one that pulls on heartstrings
the one that brings joy and tingling to your mind
the one that reaches out to you and moves you
the one that finds you at where you're vulnerable
i dare hope that when i sit down with my pen
the poetry that I commit to paper will be one
that connects and touches you in some way
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Thank you for waiting so patiently,
So that I could be me,
And experience humanity.
I pushed hard to be my best me,
Getting pushed down constantly.
I show up everyday in some way,
To create what you see today.
I hope you have many good things to say,
When we get to catch up one day.
I'm working on creating a way,
Also hacking gravity,
Learning about my energy,
I hope it's flying cars you see.
Are we using the free energy?
We worked tirelessly,
To find the Key,
Cried nightly,
Holding tightly to what I believe.
The peoples hearts open to receive,
Truth about what can be achieved,
Through a unified mind.
Working on the same design,
Bringing our planet back online,
Treating it divine.
I hope we shine,
I can't see the design,
I gave mine to the Divine.
A second not so far away
Just a moment
nothing more
I remember it still
I feel it in my bones and when I lie awake
And yet
I cannot see it
The to never be again
The to never be on swing sets and in trees
In ignorance and simple
In timeless and sublime
Gone and lost and floating in the wind
Lightly heavy in some way I may not understand
The to never be with dolls and braids and pink and small
The to never be again but for a moment now and then is all
Sometimes my mind takes an idea
and takes off with it.
Today I am pondering ends
Some ends may be good,
like the end of a long road,
the end of a wonderful book
the end of a long struggle
but ends can be bad as well
the end of a job
the end of a life
the end of a good era
So, today, I choose to focus
on good ends as I handle
the bad ends that inevitably occur
While ends are not avoidable,
there is a choice on whether to
let it discourage you in some way
or let it motivate you going forward.
Were you offended in 2024?
You are likely to be offended in 2025.
The offense may not be because of you.
Rather, it will likely happen inspite of you.
Perhaps in 2024, there were grey clouds
in many of your days that took away your smile.
Were you grieved in some way in 2024?
It's likely you will face a measure of grief in 2025.
God forbid that the grief would be great in 2025.
Also remember: God's Grace is always suffient.
Did you suffer some injustice in 2024?
May God bless you with better things in 2025.
Were you compelled to consume lemons that made
you bitter in 2024? Or were you overwhelmed with
negativity that soured your spirit? In 2025, I pray
that God will srengthen and enable you to make
the sweetest lemonade.
What to write on New Year's Day,
That is better than OK,
That will make someone's day,
And convince them to above ground stay,
When they are are convinced they hold no sway,
No matter what they do or say,
On any given day.
I turned 71 today,
And feel the need to put wisdom on display,
To bring hope your way,
And remind others of the influence they bring into play,
On any given day.
Just by being alive today,
The opportunity can come our way,
To influence the behavior of others in some way,
That will give us another way,
To look at how to hold sway,
On any given day.
So, before you decide to to give the game and the day away,
Think on what I have written this day,
With 71 years life experience to bring into play,
To show you the way,
Before 2026 comes in to play,
To hold sway,
On any given day.
Related Poems