An Appeal, A Warning
A Poem.
We interrupt normally scheduled programming
for an intermission
—a Public Service Broadcast—
from everyone's most favourite/least favourite
(delete as appropriate)
poetic Svengali iconoclastic Italian-Scot
(you're damn right, that's a mouthful)
—
When all is said and done
cliched openings aside
I am deeply flawed in many ways
I am pretty self-absorbed and careless
with words and deeds
I am not the most gregarious person
you'll ever meet
standoffish at best, sympathetically shy
rude at worst
I won't be nominated for best person
I won't even get an honourable mention
—a badge or an aside—
still...I manage to wake every single day
(I know, being awake and alive is quite an achievement, right?)
—I digress
I manage to wake every single day
and avoid thinking
about taking
the easy route
avoid using bots and AI
to mine and harvest
for my own gain
words are currency
but mine are my own
even though they are
some of the best
you will come across
some of the worst
brutalisations of grammar
perfect in their imperfection
I want you to crave them
I want you to desire them
as your own
even as you sit there
knowing they're now
and never will be
it takes a certain
French phrase
you know the one
the one that means
—I don't know what—
dream of them
cold sweats
hot flushes
raging as a fire
in your belly
cremating your being
as you image my words
leaving your mouth
—oh the pain—
—oh the shame—
stain your top
with spit-take
after hock-fuelled
spit-take
as a poet, a bard
does what he does best
does what any self-respecting
author of his own
disasterpieces and masterpieces
of the banality and the sublimity
that comes forth from my mind
through my fingertips
my ugly, fraught fingertips
So I want to appeal
and I want to repeat
—the appeal
—the warning
Keep my words out of your god-damn bots
don't worry my dear
don't worry, sugar
this may sound like a battle-cry
days and weeks in the making
But, alas, it took mere minutes
to create a literary, poetic
beatdown worthy of your cowardice
Keep my words out of your god-damn bots
*
Thanks for reading!
Author's Notes: Thanks to Mother Combs, Celia of Celia and River in Underland fame and the mighty Dharr, I was informed that my recent, soul-exposing piece of art, introspective dig deep in poetic form, Anti-Septic, which was awarded a Top Story, was plagiarised. It wasn't even plagiarised fully or in a flattering way. It was lazy and boring and after I finished my entry into the The Metamorphosis of the Mind challenge, I was bitten by the bug known as inspiration and the above poured from me.
I shall not give a link to the bastard that stole my work, because I don't want him to get any extra attention. If you would like to and have not already checked it out, the link to the piece he thought was so good deserved to be stolen and bashed around with the uncreative stick can be found below.
Here is another new thing:
About the Creator
Paul Stewart
Award-Winning Writer, Poet, Scottish-Italian, Subversive.
The Accidental Poet - Poetry Collection out now!
Streams and Scratches in My Mind coming soon!
Enjoyed the story? Support the Creator.
Subscribe for free to receive all their stories in your feed. You could also become a paid subscriber, letting them know you appreciate their work.
Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.