A Poem About Eggs
I generated an AI poem about eggs: This raised some questions in my mind…Not about eggs
I grew up with binders and notebooks full to the edges of poetry. Poems I liked, poems I wrote, poems I expanded on. Poetry was my first love. I would write free verse like Whitman, haikus like Ezra Pound, and out of pocket poems like Yusef Komunyakaa.
I was a poet through and through.
I lost my love for it as time went on but I hold a few verses near and dear to my heart. I still hold Whitman on a pedestal and write short snippets here and there. To be a poet, a writer, a man whose pencil is a sword you have to be in the trenches. You have to feel and value every word that glides across the page. You transform experience weather that be physical or mental. You are the one who gives it a voice.
My new love
As I grew and became an educated soul my love for digital media, social media, communication technology developed. AI is the new buzzword, with the next generation of technology behind it. I have seen how it works, what it can create, and what it will be capable of in the years coming.
But I never saw this.
I was on Copymatics website (my preferred AI website. It’s easy to use) and they have a new chat beta much like the ChatGPT everyone is raving about. The beta will provide you with prompts and ideas to get the juices flowing.
One of the prompts surprised me, in fact I almost fell out of my chair. It said “Write me a poem about…”
It was morning time so I had eggs on the brain. I hate eggs and refuse to eat them but everyone around me eats them like crazy and the price of them are very meme-able right now. I typed in “Write be a poem about eggs” and this is what the AI spat back out:
An egg is perfect in its simplicity,
A source of life that brings us glee,
Its versatility and versatility will always be,
A food that’s loved by all humankind. From breakfast to lunch and dinner too,
Eggs make a meal so good and true,
No other food can compare to the hue,
The nourishing egg, our favorite food. A great source of protein and vitamins,
Giving us energy and keeping us fit,
Eggs are one of the best nutrition wins,
No matter if boiled, scrambled, or fried. To the egg, we give our praise,
For bringing us joy throughout the days,
It’s taste, nutrition, and flavor never fades,
The egg has been with us for all our days.
While this wasn’t a Emily Dickinson level of artistic integrity it is a poem and to be honest it isn’t half bad. But this begs the question, what makes a poem a poem? Is it the human experience it is reflecting? Are they just words of expression? Who has the right to express on paper? Can AI correctly describe the human experience.
It opens the door to all these somewhat existential questions. So, what do you think? Could AI be the next New York Best Selling Author?
This was originally posted on my Substack. Check it out here: https://texturedispatch.substack.com/
