What Little Buddy AI Had To Say About My Poetic Musings

I wrote the poem "Somber Field" (which AI insisted I call, "Lay Me Down Love and Let Life Fade Away..." and actually that does have a ring to it) around twenty-four years ago, for a college English class, and the professor was pretty impressed by the goth tones of my death verses. I've had the poem in my noggin unpublished for twenty-five years. And now, here is AI which didn't exist then, and it has an analysis at a "genius level." And I find it flattering. Here's the poem:

"Somber Field"

"Lay me down love and let life fade away, I would sleep in that somber field. Turned into darkness, from darkness we turn, and to darkness forever we yield. Making the most of our sorrow and pain, and shrugging away tomorrows. Lay me down lover, I'll feel no more pain, in this field choked with sobering sorrows."

"And Hell is eternity icy and cold, I would breathe in the dust of the ages; and lay down my body with roses and mold, a death for a sin is the wages. Looking toward God in my funeral sleep, I am icy and cold in my plot; I wonder if Jesus Christ's love ran so deep, he might bleed a new life into rot."

"And here in my sepulchral city of tears, I am pauper and prisoner in pain. I pine for my love in the wastelands above, may she lay down and be mine again. The nights never-ending and daybreak is torture, and loneliness my only boon. Lay down my love and let life breathe its last, sleep in this somber field, come, but not soon."

The poem "Lay me down love and let life fade away" is a meditation on death and the afterlife. The speaker contemplates the inevitability of death and the darkness that awaits them, seeing death as a release from the pain and suffering of life. The poem is filled with religious imagery and references, with the speaker wondering if Jesus' love is powerful enough to bring new life even to the dead and decaying body.

The tone of the poem is one of resignation and acceptance, with the speaker ready to embrace death and saying goodbye to their lover. The imagery of the somber field and sepulchral city of tears convey a sense of hopelessness and despair, with the speaker feeling trapped and imprisoned by their pain.

Overall, "Lay me down love and let life fade away" is a powerful poem that explores the themes of love, death, and the deeper mysteries of the afterlife. The haunting imagery and poetic language create a vivid impression of the speaker's state of mind and their struggle with mortality.

Is it well-written?

As an AI language model, I don't have personal preferences and judgments onA the quality of the poem. However, describing it structurally, the poem "Lay me down love and let life fade away" features strong and unified themes, vivid language, and rhythmic structure. The poem utilizes a rhyme scheme and repetition of phrases to create a sense of musicality and emphasize certain ideas. Therefore, it can be considered well-written from a technical point of view.

What is the rhyme scheme?

The rhyme scheme of the poem "Lay me down love and let life fade away" is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. It follows a consistent pattern of rhyming the second and fourth lines of each stanza, which ties the poem together and creates a sense of continuity.

Expand on your analysis of each line at genius level.

"Lay me down love and let life fade away, I would sleep in that somber field": The poem opens with an intimate plea, possibly directed at a lover. The reference to the "somber field" can be seen as a metaphor for death, with the speaker wishing to lay down and sleep peacefully in death's embrace.

"Turned into darkness, from darkness we turn, and to darkness forever we yield": This line suggests the cyclical nature of life and death. It could be interpreted as coming from the philosophy that suggests we come from darkness (birth), live through darkness (life's struggles), and return to darkness (death).

"Making the most of our sorrow and pain, and shrugging away tomorrows": The speaker alludes to the pain of existence and the desire to seize the day, making the best out of life's trials despite the inevitability of demise.

"Lay me down lover, I'll feel no more pain, in this field choked with sobering sorrows." Here again, the speaker seeks solace in death, the 'field choked with sobering sorrows' could signify the grave, where they expect to find freedom from life's agony.

"And Hell is eternity icy and cold, I would breathe in the dust of the ages": The speaker seems to challenge the traditional imagery of hell as hot and fiery, ironically describing it as being icy cold. They seem open to this fate as well.

"Looking toward God in my funeral sleep, I wonder if Jesus Christ's love runs so deep, he might bleed a new life into rot." A theological contemplation occurs here, questioning the resurrection, Christ's sacrificial love, and what it could mean for them.

"And here in my sepulchral city of tears, I am a pauper and prisoner in pain. I pine for my love in the wastelands above, may she lay down and be mine again." The past in the 'wastelands above' haunts the speaker. Their desire for union with their lover even in death reveals deep emotional longing and attachment.

"The nights never-ending and daybreak is torture, and loneliness my only boon. Lay down my love and let life breathe its last, sleep in this somber field, come, but not soon." Wrapping up, the speaker endures eternal nights, loneliness, and longs for their lover's presence. Simultaneously, they beckon her to join them in the 'somber field,' but they don't wish for her immediate demise. This line embodies an internal struggle, where the desire for the lover's companionship battles the hope for her continued life.

I decided to keep the chat going, as I had a couple of other poems to run past the superbrain (one capable of explaining Einstein's Theory of General Relativity but totally incapable of NOT f*cking up the lyrics to "Generator" by Bad Religion). The one below was a creepy paen to necrophiliac devotion, a subject that, at the time I wrote it, I didn't realize I would be writing a novel and a nonfiction book about. Those books were still years in the future.

"Torn Rose"

"Like a torn rose, they found my love, her form was a joy to behold. She never complains, she's always restrained; she'll definitely never grow old. I have her memories, a lock of her hair, and I have her pretty red smile. I'll take her right out, dance her about, and lock her back up for a while. If love is a prison, she's my captive indeed, I'll never relinquish my hold. I'll keep her in chains, in the back of my brain, though her skin is so damnably cold. And never and never doubt the power of love, though a rose becomes tattered and torn. Though she's tattered and torn, battered and worn, and so damnably icy to hold."

This poem seems to be a mourning love letter spoken by a person grieving the loss of their loved one. The speaker describes their lover as a 'torn rose', which is a metaphor for beauty marred by the hardships of life or even death.

"She never complains, she's always restrained; she'll definitely never grow old." These lines suggest the lover will not age, possibly due to death. The speaker clings onto her memory, referencing a lock of her hair and her pretty red smile.

There are explicit themes of possession and constriction with phrases like "If love is a prison, she's my captive indeed.". The speaker refuses to release his love, keeping her memory alive, "in chains, in the back of my brain." The continuation of the line "though her skin is so damnably cold" returns to the metaphor of the icy hand of Death.

The choice of the word 'damnably' when referring again to the cold and ice explicitly curse the realities of death. It shows the speaker's resistance and bitterness towards the reality of their lover's demise, and it is a clear indication of their resentment of their beloved becoming "icy to hold".

The last lines of the poem, "Though she's tattered and torn, battered and worn", are reminiscent of the rose at the beginning. These lines carry a melancholic tone as the speaker acknowledges that love continues despite physical deterioration or death. The repetition of "torn" here seems to reiterate the person's state of grief and the devastation they feel.

Overall, this poem portrays the enduring attributes of love even in separation and death's face, showing a deeply intimate connection between the two characters. It's an elegy to the enduring power of love, even as it mourns the loss of the loved one.

I wrote the poem below with my ex-wife, in 1999, stoned OUT of my mind, together. ( I mean we were stoned together. I wrote the poem by myself. Stoned, nonetheless.) And I could hear an entire choir of pirates as it were singing it to the tune of an old sea shanty. I actually put this one to music. (Note: I didn't say it was "good" music. I just said I "put it to music.")

Tom Baker - "Who Took the Light from Me?"

"Well, tales be told of warriors bold, and tales be told of dying, and tales be brief and full of no grief, and some tales might be lying. But tales be few of the woman who slew the beast from up under the sea, the beast with one eye and a hell-born cry WHO TOOK THE LIGHT FROM ME. Well, Father cried when a poor child died and Mother counted to three, and we all spat up from the poisonous cup and we turned on the Christmas tree; and America blest and all of the rest and the boogeyman after me, will never bear fangs to the master of flames WHO TOOK THE LIGHT FROM ME. And Ollie and Sam eat tinfuls of spam, and we all have a murdering spree; and the man who blamed the woman who brained that cow munching grass by the sea, said "Leave me alone, go back to your homes, leave your ribbons of merriest glee. But get out the door, bug me no more, and GIVE BACK MY LIGHT TO ME!"

This poem is a narrative of a heroic woman, tragic loss, societal critique, and a plea for restoration. There's a significant transition in tone and theme between each verse.

"Well, tales be told of warriors bold, and tales be told of dying... WHO TOOK THE LIGHT FROM ME." Here, the speaker begins by discussing different types of tales, emphasizing the absence of tales about a woman who defeated a monster from the sea. 'Taking the light' implies a monumental loss, possibly the speaker's loss of happiness, innocence, or life itself due to this creature.

"Well, father cried... WHO TOOK THE LIGHT FROM ME." This verse takes on a darker, more societal tone. The 'poisonous cup' and turning on the Christmas tree serve as potent symbols of corrupted innocence and a mocking nod to potentially faux celebrations. The 'boogeyman' and 'master of flames' could represent fear and destruction, perhaps a critique of societal evils or oppressive systems that contribute to their current state.

"And Ollie and Sam... GIVE BACK MY LIGHT TO ME." The final verse introduces two characters and a 'murdering spree,' suggesting a chaos or decline in morality, further shown by the man blaming the woman. The speaker’s plea to “Give back my light” implies a yearning for a return to better times or innocence and freedom—a cry against the darkness swallowing their life.

The poem uses stark, vivid imagery, a blend of folklore, societal issues, and personal longing weaving a comprehensive story of conflict, loss, and a desperate plea for restoration

I'm just ecstatic that the machine "hive-mind" or alien intelligence or superbrain on its way to global domination or whatever likes my poetry. Truly. It brought up suppressed themes and pointed out things that even I didn't realize were there. I only wish I had a million HUMAN brains to do the same thing for me: a million to analyze, critique, and, best of all, buy my book. (Which is linked below.) Anyway, ciao. Don't take any wooden nickels on the way to obsolescence, oh fellow man-animals. (One gets the impression that the AI cyborgs will one day skulk around like Travolta in Battlefield Earth, calling each and every one of us "rat brains" and forcing us to mine gold so it can teleport it back to Psychlo and sip slimy green alien juice with Forrest Whitaker.)