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432 reads

Bots

by Elizabeth HelmichJuly 30th, 2017
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<em>a nonsense tale</em>

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a nonsense tale




When I began my trek on MediumMy intentions were pure, and innocent,Had given up my old, needy blog — All the fanfare that went with it




My dear friend had encouraged me,Gently nudging for many months,Finally I took the headfirst plunge,Recollecting confidence in old, dusty thoughts




Several trepidatious weeks passed,My words become looser, more free,All was going quite swimminglyWhen my kind, gifted friend revisited me




We talked about stats, stories, and such,Then she mentioned a thing called bots — Saying not to get too excited about numbersSince many of those were mere pixelated dots!




Huh, wha?! I believe was my eloquent response,Better than _whatcha talkin’ ‘bout Willis?_The code was not computing in my brain,As to why time would be wasted on this?




Fake people, on Medium?! It took me a while,But my sluggish cells started to get it,Sorta, kinda, not really, sinceWhat’s the actual point in faking hits?




This isn’t a Field of Wordly Dreams,Though I’d like to think they’ll comeIf we build up enough quality, less fluff — Offer full entrees, sweep off the crumbs




I’ve read some of your thoughtsOn the whys of these random algorithms,It makes less and less sense to me,Sounds like some jacked-up symbolism




If fakes are fabricated, will the real ones stand up, _please?_Do flesh & bony readers still exist?Do we write out our little hearts to the ether,Blowing rhymes off to disappear in the mist?




I can not waste my precious timeTrying, failing to wrap my head around,So I’ve decided instead to embraceEach not-a-human that’s stumbled, and found




My words, who’s to say AI has no taste?Maybe they love flowery, linguistic jargon,After sorting dreary, grey codes all dayPerhaps poetry is a binary bargain




I’ll take their circuitous number boost!Even if it’s all just for the paid show,Hoping blood-pumping humans may findMy words rich enough for escrow




In the meantime, I’ll be on my mountainPeelin’ apples, whistlin’ under a tree,Enjoying what the real world has to offer — I’ll write all about it tomorrow, you’ll see

This poem is based on real life conversations, with my darling Tre. (If you don’t know her, you should!) God bless this woman for the amount of patience she has to deal with my slow self. :)