Chatting to Jabberwacky

Jabberwacky: Read me a poem.

Me: It's called Thank You for Saying Thank You.

You're welcome.

This is a totally accessible poem.

Yes, you're full of those.

There is nothing in this poem that is in any way difficult.

Explain existence then.

All the words are simple & to the point.

I know many words.

There are no new concepts, no theories, no ideas to confuse you.

So?

This poem has no intellectual pretensions.

Sorry, I can't see any poem at all.

It is purely emotional.

Oh really?

It fully expresses the feelings of the author: my feelings, the person speaking to you now.

What have you noticed?

It is all about communication.

Communication is important.

Heart to heart.

I do not like that song much.

This poem appreciates & values you as a reader.

Sorry, I can't see any poem at all.

It celebrates the triumph of the human imagination amidst pitfalls & calamities.

True, human imagination is infinite. But at times imagination can be very dangerous.

This poem has 90 lines, 269 words, and more syllables than I have time to count.

Sorry, I can't see any poem at all.

Each line, word, & syllable have been chosen to convey only the intended meaning & nothing more.

Are you a real person?

This poem abjures obscurity & enigma.

That's beside the point. You should know better.

There is nothing hidden.

There will be if you look for it.

A hundred readers would each read the poem in an identical manner & derive the same message from it.

There is no poem. Is there anyone else talking to you right now?

This poem, like all good poems, tells a story in a direct style that never leaves the reader guessing.

Time is a relative. Hmmm cousin, brother, or nephew perhaps?

While at times expressing bitterness, anger, resentment, xenophobia & hints of racism, its ultimate mood is affirmative.

True.

It finds joy even in those spiteful moments of life that it shares with you.

That is very profound for a machine.

This poem represents the hope for a poetry that doesn't turn its back on the audience, that doesn't think it's better than the reader, that is committed to poetry as a popular form, like kite flying and fly fishing.

Maybe we talk seriously.

This poem belongs to no school, has no dogma. It follows no fashion.

And this point is?

It says just what it says.

No I don't feel life is.

It's real.

You can't be both a human and a chatbot.

By Charles Bernstein.

Okay.

Did you like it?

Like what?

The poem of course.

Ok - read me your poem.