We were the USA all tried and true
red, white and blue in 1952
our archenemy, our nemesis was the USSR
we despised them
We were capitalism, they were communism
we kids knew that we needed to win the space race
there was much cheering for our astronauts
We thought we were ahead
Lots of propaganda said we were anyway
The Berlin Blockade and Cuban Missile Crisis were on the news
There were McCarthy trials for writers and actors in Hollywood
USA children were taught to despise the USSR
The USSR was our enemy; it was okay to hate them
We knew they were bad, even if we did not know how
The cold war did not include actual fighting
But it sure did include propaganda and espionage
words 128
AI isn’t singular,
it’s a conglomeration
of all the algorithms
since nineteen hundred and fifty
when the imitation game
computed machinery and intelligence,
followed by checkers
followed by thinking machines
followed by LISP.
My only question:
has Artificial Intelligence
learned how
to cook a goose?
NOTES
LISP: an abbreviation of "list processing” a family of programming languages.
1950: Alan Turing publishes "Computing Machinery and Intelligence," proposing the "Imitation Game" (Turing Test) to assess machine intelligence.
1952: Arthur Samuel creates a checkers program that learns to play better over time, marking early machine learning.
1956: The Dartmouth Conference officially launches AI as a field, with John McCarthy coining the term and bringing researchers together to explore "thinking machines".
Late 1950s-1960s: Early AI systems like the Logic Theorist (proving math theorems) and the Perceptron (an early neural network) are developed, alongside the creation of the LISP programming language.
~From AI Overview (AI giving a history about itself.. Can we trust it?)
random thought
about bought
lesee i let a i o u
tune my poems
& it's so true
entomb my tomes
now for guilt
wrapping quilt
or satisfaction or both
placate faction doth
i don't write know more
blank white boar
less than not
in ending this
game of rot
composting fbook
if you care to look
just don't kiss
any dyslexic
mix or be sic
sans which rye
on rub in put in pi
know where going
less point more thumb
all ready now showing
orange ain't knew dumb
can't get past
third weak
sans rubbing cash
praytell pay less
peter's pall
merrikka stall
must get this sin
don't kill venezuelan
since rus needs busy be
now that you crane
has no see
but blown apart brain
an wouldn't want sia
defend with weapon i ran
brics expect expand
wooden wont bee ya
all drunk
aslib progressive punk
hanging hard
on mccarthy card
ptsd owns petard
“Good Night and Good Luck,”
Brought to us from the stage,
Allowed viewers from home
To with theater engage.
Based on Edward R. Murrow
Who, for CBS News,
Got to challenge McCarthy,
It got rave reviews.
Though George Clooney was brilliant,
As was the whole cast,
What most got me was watching
A glimpse of the past…
When the bad guy was finally
Brought to his knees
After hurting so many
To varied degrees.
It’s a relevant topic
In light of the way
That democracy is
Being threatened today.
The unfortunate truth is,
At least what I see,
That to topple this bad guy,
There’s no guarantee.
“The times are a’changin”
Can’t really apply –
That train’s left the station,
No matter the why.
So I am afraid
We can never go back,
For the truth will be constantly
Under attack.
arm in arm with smiles
charming my sisters - i missed
out when i drove off
pretty in pink…weekend at
bernie’s…ANDREW MCCARTHY!!!!!
3/27/2023
A period here. a question mark there?
A handful of commas,,,tossed in the air
To fall all willy-nilly but he doesn't care.
Then he closes his eyes so he never sees,
And does it again with apostrophe's.
Next colons: and semis; are put through their paces,
And are frequently found in the oddest of places.
Quotations are more than just dressing or stuffing,
Yet often appear when "nobody said nuffing".
It makes reading a chore just to try to adhere
To a writer's directions of what to do where,
But you barrel on through 'til you get to the end,
Give your eyes time to uncross,
And then try it again.
Some poets abjure punctuation, for sure,
And though not a big fan,
I'm a reasonable man.
e e cummings, for example,
Responds to the call
By using little or no punctuation at all.
Author's note: To quote the author Cormac McCarthy: "If you write properly you shouldn't have to punctuate." Poets such as e e cummings, et al, apparently took him up on that. Please understand, dear reader, that this piece is punctuated incorrectly to make a point. And I blush to admit that I, myself, am overly fond of "quotation marks" and…ellipses.
Who remembers the Yardbirds
and their moniker Monkey business
Relf , McCarthy, Dreja and Samwell Smith
Blues boys with Beck/Page on duo guitar
latterly Happenings 10 years time ago
seeking people through the world of time
through to Renaissance
and all the falling angels
for intuition
God gave us ammunition
knowledge retention
for much pollution
God gave us a solution
should use exclusion
a McCarthy mess
is trouble we must confess
we should have to stress
we need a balance
of power with their talents
also reliance
It sounds like junior high school,
The vote that will not end,
With people making speeches,
K. McCarthy to defend.
The government’s on hold
For no decisions can be made
Until a leader’s chosen,
But the pols are all afraid.
Concessions have been offered,
Some of this and some of that.
The easiest solution is –
Elect a Democrat!
When Ozzie & Harriet wed
Censors decreed one to a bed*
Desi & Lucy
Never got juicy
But McCarthy still dubbed them, "Red!"
* It was not OK in the USA for
married couples to share the
same bed, but always OK for
people and puppets to beat
the crap out of each other,
leaving Soup poets to wonder
why people are so cruel!
Baseball cards and hula hoops
Baloney sandwich, Campbell’s soup
Howdy Doody and Mickey Mouse
Mamie and Ike in the White House
American Bandstand, Rock 'n Roll
Elvis the Pelvis, Nat King Cole
Pez Dispensers and Kool-Aid
Bedtime for Bonzo, Panty Raids
Oscar Mayer’s Wienermobile
Superman was the ‘Man of Steel’
Archie & Veronica, Mad Magazine
Skirts and Bobby-Sox, Jukebox Scenes
The Roadrunner, Tom and Jerry
Durward Kirby and a Moore named Gary
The Price is Right, Let’s Make a Deal
Hostess Twinkies – b & w newsreels
A Dog named Lassie and Rin Tin Tin
Yankees and Celtics always win
Mickey Mantle, Ernie Banks
Whitey Ford, Hammerin' Hank
Joe McCarthy and the Red Scare
Semi-Crewcuts or Slicked-back hair
The 1950’s weren’t built to last
Still and all ~ quite a cast!
Out with infighting and lack of general respect,
Let’s restore our Congressional reputation
Rank partisanship and grandstanding
While padding their own coffers, I expect!
Let’s rid ourselves of all the current trolls
“Let’s throw the bums out,” it has been said,
Not a one of them worth saving, I suspect.
Better off with zombies at the controls.
Let’s start by ditching Mitch; Pelosi, too,
Right down to the bottom of the barrel
Grifters, the shysters, and arrogant fools
Send McCarthy and Schumer to Timbuktu.
Greene, and Gaetz, and dummy Gohmert
Publicity hounds and holier-than-thous
Let’s start with a clean slate this year
Out with Cruz, Cotton, and Lauren Boebert.
Repubs and Dems—all those fat cats alike,
We need to start with a clean slate now
Hire those who will make government run
Let’s tell Madison Cawthorn to take a hike.
All of them! – I’ve just named a very few
But I can’t think of a single one I’d keep,
Clear out the entire House and the Senate
We need to clean up this despicable zoo!
HONORABLE MENTION
"Religion or Politics No. 7" Poetry Contest
All Poetry.com
April 24, 2022
Written April 9, 2022
How obnoxious is Meghan Markle?
The one who married Royalty, with a
ring that makes a whole room sparkle?
Turns down flowers from her Caucasian
father?
Then makes a video insulting her mother-in-
law, Elizabeth, the Queen, why bother?
Melissa McCarthy, playing the Queen?
She should only have such class.
A foul-mouth, tawdry comedianne, and
Hollywood and the Woke Crowd just laughs
and gives her a loving pass?
To such depravity and grossness, we do
howl right along?
Tell, me do, whatever became of honor
and respect, as crudeness is our new
national song!
I pray both do come to their right mind.
Disrespect for parents in any form is both
ungrateful and most unkind!
8-8-2021
~1~
Commandment Four:
Honor Thy Father and thy Mother
Edited. Apolologies for having her first name spelt wromg!
KUDOS to Tom C for telling me. Thank you,
My goodness, I wonder, when I read of your deeds
Are you really a member of the U. S. Congress?
Reminds me of that unstable U. S. Senator named
Joseph McCarthy, who accused good people, made
Outlandish accusations and wound up censored.
Republicans cannot be proud you are representing
In high office their grand ol' party, with such
Explosive rhetoric and shameful behavior.
The thought crosses my mind that you are simply
Attention-getting, that your true motives are hidden.
You believe that even the most unsavory publicity
Lands you votes, makes your name well-known,
Or … is it possible that you are truly unhinged?
Really?
Goodness, surely you cannot believe the bizarre,
Radical conspiracy theories you so blatantly
Espouse? Obviously, you must not care that
Everyone is questioning your sanity, knowing that a
National high position cannot amend your reputation.
Every day brings hope you will rise above your station.
Stopped off for eggs
with ham(thought about keeping kosher for a while)
Have to say the ham was tasty!
Came up into the ESL Lab
My supervisor said he likes his
councilman
At 84 my mother
works 4 days for a Democratic Councilman
Whom I have spoken with
If I run for office
My platform would
be
More poetry open mikes!
Poetry can save your life
if you let it into your heart
Politics matters but:
EVERYTHING IS NOT POLITICAL
Voted the other day
I always do
I am a good citizen
So my fellow good citizens
reading this ode
Bet your behinds to the polls and vote
Eugene McCarthy and Abraham Lincoln
both wrote verse
Politics, poetry
Not mutually exclusive
So
Sub Categories
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.