Give me your tired, your poor...
Oh, wait. I mean
Give me your old, entitled, white men, your billionaire businessmen, yearning for more money
They are the wretched refuse on our teeming shore
Send thee, only straight, white males, no persons of color, females, or transgender
The room has grown dark, and we’ve closed the door
😒😒
–AJM
I’ve started a new fiction writing project recently, and every time I get into Microsoft Word to write, copilot chimes in and asks me if I want assistance.
I click out of it furiously, feeling almost insulted and hurt. Why would I want assistance with my own creative project?!
And then a few hours ago, while working on a letter at work, I wrote in Microsoft copilot for assistance. Yes, please help me write these generic phrases into new words.
I’m probably late in the game for this conversation, but I guess I’m curious to see what you, my fellow creatives, feel about AI?
I have such a love/hate relationship with it. I get entertained when AI writes in the voice of Shakespeare, and then on the opposite: I feel so attacked as a creative writer that a computer can do what I choose and love to do in two secs or less.
I remember reading an article a while back where an author actually ran an experiment with readers where they were given an AI generated story and one written by someone. In the end, they found that the story written by an actual person was the more popular choice. Maybe it had something to do with AI being too general and using phrasing that didn’t fit with the overall narrative… I don’t quite remember the why.
But in an age where technology dominates and everyone is desperate to get ahead… especially financially, I can’t get rid of this fear that I’ve missed my chance to let my voice be heard.
Am I too late to be a published author? Or will AI-generated material get published, too, and ruin my chances? I need to do more reading on this.
I am interested to know your thoughts!
Sorry, I’m a bit late posting this week, and I missed last week, too. I am recovering from a nasty cold. I hope you are all well!
AJM
maybe it feels silly
to call you valentine
but i feel warm
while the snow blows outside
I hope everyone had a really nice Valentine’s day last week. Honestly, we all need the love on these cold February days.
AJM
no one told me
that when you get older
those friends you saw everyday
won’t be around as much
those girl shopping days
nights out at the bar, dancin’
or slumber parties
don’t happen as often
because we’ve got families
and adult responsibilities
and making plans
is like getting the planets to align
and one one told me
that one night
you’ll watch a video
about two friends
and it’ll bring back a sudden ache
for those carefree nights
where a drink at a bar and a DD
were the only things we were worried about
and no one told me
that you’ll miss your friends
like a promise you can’t keep
like a cloud that blew across the sun
a hollow longing
that hollars down an empty road
and that one day
we got together for a slumber party
wished on stars together
and told secrets
for the last time
when things get rough
when i feel trapped
by my responsibilities
i look up at the night sky
and think
…at least i’m still free
🥺 Our future here in the US is so uncertain. I’m scared of what our future looks like. No, I’m terrified. I’m so glad I get to watch the world burn around me because of someone I didn’t vote for. 🙄
AJM
I had a dream my dad went to live
at a golf course on the moon
and the only reason he went
was because my uncle told him to
there was a constant summer sun
in a long, flat expanse of green
a domed space that went on forever
and the people there were mean
I knew he was uncomfortable
I could see it in his face
because for some reason, I went with him
to this golf course in outer space
Because I thought we could use some silliness this month. And I’ve started this thing where I write poems of actual dreams I’ve had. This poem made my Dad laugh.
It has been soo cold. January is kicking my butt physically and mentally, and I just have to endure. I can make it through. The new presidency has me super depressed, so I am just going to read. How many books can I make it through? I am currently reading four…two audio books and two other books. A memoir, a YA science fiction adventure, an urban fantasy, and an epic fantasy romance. Variety is the spice of life. Maybe I should throw another genre in there.
AJM
shining in
the inky black
i tip my head back
and dream
I had a dream I lived under water
in a station on the sea floor
We studied sharks and sea creatures
hoping we could learn more
The station walked on four legs
like a squat robot made of stone
we traveled deep and traveler far
a few of us called it home
I remember the color of the canyon
an orange-brown of cracked dirt
Yellow-green Marine life with extra frills
like maybe we weren’t on earth
Nothing else happened in the dream
we just lumbered on some more
searching for what we couldn’t find
we were made to learn and explore
how many heroes
are lost to time
because of their skin color
how many women
forgotten
because of their sex
and if you’re a woman of color
you’re a ripped page
out of someone’s notebook
trampled into obscurity
until someone with power
or money
plucks your story into the light of day
the hardest thing
about growing up
or growing old
is the relationships you grow out of
love may be infinite
but time doesn’t mean
you’ll be in the same place
or the same time
always
eventually
you have to admit
that how you once meant to somebody
is now different
she’s not a baby anymore
she’s on her own path now
you blinked
and missed the old one
but
how you wish
like you could grasp it in your hand
a wish like squiggly worms
you wish
you could zip along, too
Once again (sigh), it’s not Monday. I’ve been toying with the idea of switching to Tuesday and Wednesday posts.
Wrote this one last night. It’s difficult for me to watch my nieces and nephews get older. For some reason, it’s like I always thought they’d be little. Maybe in my eyes they still are. Even though they’re not. 😭
–AJM
A. J. Morse 