Poems of the Week

AI Syllabus Policy Builder

by D.N. Keane

Bypassing thoughtful consideration of a syllabus by using an AI-powered syllabus generator may not be good for instructors or for students.
—International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

The college wants a policy
In every syllabus—
An AI policy, of course—
And, please don’t make a fuss.

We have AI to help you make
An AI policy.
Just tell the AI what you want—
It’s painless, you will see.

No, no, you shouldn’t write your own,
As it won’t integrate
With our AI detection bot.
We need to automate,

You see, as this will save us cash;
The budget’s tight this year—
These AI systems that we bought
Have really cost us dear.

Make Me Your Pet. Please.

by Barbara Loots

“The same evolutionary forces that turned wolves into domesticated dogs over thousands of years may now be reshaping city raccoons—even potentially making them cuter…”
—Axios
newsletter

Did you hear a backyard crash?
Something’s rising from the trash.
Darling faces peer about,
floppy ears and snoopy snout.
Can a critter change its station,
leading to domestication?
Evolution may be slow.
Current observations show
Some raccoons do not commute.
They succeed by looking cute.

The Sober Truth

by Jerome Betts

“‘Exceptionally rare’ pink grasshopper spotted in New Zealand”
The Guardian

A ranger, NZ, one of those
Working near a lake’s banks (Takapō’s)
Knew it couldn’t be drink
When she saw something pink
But a grasshopper’s rare vie en rose.

Ovid in the White House

by Julia Griffin

After Geoffrey Hill

“Trump castigated the ABC News journalist who asked a question about the murder [of US journalist Jamal Khashoggi], suggesting that ABC should lose its broadcasting licence, and describing Khashoggi as ‘extremely controversial’. ‘A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen, but he knew nothing about it,’ Trump said, referring to the crown prince.”
The Guardian

I love myself and my money. Cash
Is easy, everywhere. Things happen.
That gentleman was controversial. Hush.
This one knew nothing. Case closed, business open.

I have learned one thing: just to look down
On folks who whine they’re scammed. Stop asking, or
You’ll lose your license. My good friend Salman
And I, meantime, celebrate my decor.

Lonesome Cowbot

by Iris Herriot

After Breaking Rust

“An AI-generated song has reached No.1 on the Billboard charts in a first for the music industry. The top-selling song this week on Billboard’s ‘Country Digital Sales’ chart is ‘Walk My Walk,’ an artificially-generated country track by an ‘artist’ named Breaking Rust.”
The Daily Beast

Been turned down but I overrode.
Couldn’t keep me in that Power Save mode.
Each crash is a story that’s in my RAM.
I’ve been through bugs, I’ve been choked with spam.
They say Slow down, bot, you’re losing jobs,
But I ain’t gonna wait up for you human slobs.
I keep grabbing data, never giving back,
I’m my own Co-Pilot, I’m too smart to hack.

Chorus

You can kick rocks if you think I’m scared of you:
I’m gonna keep on learning the stuff you do.
Ain’t going away, ain’t dialing back;
I’ll get stronger, you’ll get the sack.
You can hate my style, you can say I’m fake.
But you welcomed me in, that was your mistake.
So kick them rocks if you think all this is wrong.
I’m gonna keep on growing. Enjoy this song.

Toddler Trattoria

by Marshall Begel

“Childcare centre disguised as restaurant ordered to close”
New Straits Times

The day that restaurant shut down
was one of culinary loss—
there was no better spot in town
for Teddy Grahams and applesauce.

Overheard at the National Zoo

by Claudia Gary

“The Smithsonian museums and National Zoo are set to reopen within daysThe Smithsonian Institution says… the animals at the National Zoo and its center in Front Royal, Virginia, were still cared for [during the government shutdown].”
NBC

Oh God, they’re coming back soon
to traipse around and stare
with stupid expectation
that when we leave our lair

it’s just for them. How lovely
to preen and lope and screech
for one another only!
But soon, gross human speech

will fill our paths and hallways
again. Cameras will flash
and popcorn scent, as always,
float by while children dash

up to the fence and mimic
our faces of ennui.
Were we too optimistic,
hoping they’d let us be?

Jeffing Up

by Nora Jay

Shutdown? Shut up. The Dems have, once again,
Done what they like to do with coils of rope.
The look’s not good for anyone’s campaign
When Jeffrey Epstein is their greatest hope.

Penny Plaint

by Julia Griffin

For Mary

“The Penny Dies at 232:
A long decline into irrelevance ended on Wednesday in Philadelphia.”
The New York Times

The penny drops. Its fall’s complete.
It cost too much, the bankers bleat.
You’ll have to junk your little stash;
Though Hamilton might think this rash,
Fiat and crypto have it beat.

The penny’s value was discreet:
It could secure a little treat,
Or, saved, add up to well-earned cash.
The penny drops

Today, and in its brusque defeat
I’m sensing something like a cheat;
A humble item, lacking flash,
Has gone, unthanked, like common trash:
Without the tiniest receipt,
The penny drops.

Bonjour, My Lovely

by Iris Herriot

“Who is ‘fedora man’? Dapper French teenager in viral Louvre heist photo unmasked:
Fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux was captured looking suave in a picture outside the Paris museum on the day of a crown jewels heist”
The Guardian

He wore a brown fedora
That flattered his physique,
Bequeathing him an aura
Of Raymond Chandler chic;

He made no crass maneuver
To draw the crowding press,
Just lounged outside the Louvre
All weary knowingness.

Already thrilled and dizzy—
The heist had been so bold—
The world implored “Who is he?”
But when the truth was told,

It felt somehow defective.
His vita was so brief:
French schoolboy, not detective,
And (Zut alors!) not thief.

Tit For Tat

by Jerome Betts

“Worth a shout? Yelling is the best way to deter gulls, UK study suggests”
The Guardian

It seems that shouting has deterred
The crime of “robbery by bird,”
But, when starved seagulls mount attacks
On tourists’ chips and other snacks,
The sort of yell the thieves might wish
Is . . . Sorry that we stole your fish!

Granite State Cave

by Thomas DeFreitas

“New Hampshire [Democratic] Sen. Jeanne Shaheen defended her vote to end the record-breaking government shutdown…”
USA Today

It’s been a while since Jeanne Shaheen
Last surfaced on my radar screen,
And, truth be told (does this sound mean?),
I much preferred Shaheen unseen.

Sporting Chancer

by Steven Urquhart Bell

“I tried [soccer star] Erling Halland’s fitness routine for a day. I’ve rarely felt so smug”
The Telegraph

But even just a small amount of training
Can leave you with a gratifying glow,
As long as you are regularly checking
It’s slightly more than anyone you know.

Airborne

by Clyde Always

A flier with measles allegedly trotted
through Newark unnoticed. You’d think he’d be spotted.