we poets put our minds on the line
we artists express our feelings and show ourselves
bare to the world around us
to look at us
for five minutes of admiration

just five minutes
come on
please
it doesn’t hurt

for five minutes of admiration
at best
for a lifelong dehumanisation
at worst
but we love what we do
either way
because it makes us feel human
(and pathetically pathetic)

open the curtain
enter the a-i
as in *eh-eye*
the artificial intelligence
that has no selfconsciousness
no ambition whatsoever
not even talent
nor desire to learn
or to become better —

the a-i is programmed by humans
who are no poets
who are no artists
they have no idea of how it feels to feel more and more irrelevant.

        © Dominik Alexander / 2023