Tyler DeWriter

Poem 1: Of You And Of Me

Who am I?
What is ‘me’?
What’s it gonna take
for ‘me’ to see beyond
this person in my mirror,
this body-double doppelganger?

They say he’s me…
but is he really?
Or is this but a mockery
of a man, his maniacal
mind a macabre mock-up
of humanity?

What is ‘you’?
Are you me?
You who match my every move,
blink in synchronicity
to a biorhythmic groove,
beat for broken heartbeat.

Why can’t I see
what ‘you’ means to me?
Is ‘you’ the same as ‘me’,
or someone else completely,
a reflected visage
of what it truly means to be?

Perhaps I’ll never know,
but even so I go forth,
for the lights will one day fade,
and the darkness will reclaim
these phantom mirages
of ‘you’ and of ‘me’.

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Poem 2: New Game Plus

At last, you’ve finally done it.
You’ve reached Level 100!
The dreaded Demon Lord is no more,
the last of his minions driven
from the kingdom’s shores.
You’ve rescued the princess,
received from her a kiss,
you’ve at last finished your quest.
So congratulations!
A winner is you!
Now then… what else is there to do?

You already have the strongest armor,
the Legendary Sword,
and your level can grow no more.
The land is fully explored;
there’s no dungeons left to conquer,
no more chests with shiny treasures.
You found the collectibles already,
challenged the secret enemy,
so really, what else is there to do?
What else can you do
but open the menu
and click Restart?

That is, unless you’re content
with no more content to complete.
Why risk defeat
when victory is guaranteed?
The world’s in peace,
do you really want to repeat the story
and let the lands be ravaged once again
just for the chance to do it all again?
Must you do it all again?
What’s wrong with mediocrity,
why must you unlock the Best Ending?
Why can’t you just let the people be happy?

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Poem 3: Ever Given

A gargantuan
behemoth carries cargo
into narrow straits.

The name EVERGREEN
emblazoned upon its side,
she sails through the Suez.

At least she should’ve,
had she ever given due
caution to the wind.

Instead, losing her
steering in a dust storm, she
drifts aground sideways.

Global trade screeches
to a stop, as one ship’s bulk
blockades an ocean.

Thus begins the start
of an excruciating
excavation job.

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Poem 4: fire bad or fire good?

Out in the woods one stormy evening,
a hunter and his canine friend were roaming.
Across the land had they been searching
for a great beast to claim as their trophy.
Suddenly, a catastrophe!

The pitch-black skies burst at their seams,
and down pierced incomprehensibly bright beams!
The very air itself was breaking, it seemed,
as great cracklings harkened their early graves…
When behold, a cave!

Quickly did the man and mutt take shelter,
for never had they seen such violent weather!
That night, the two did huddle together,
praying to their prehistoric gods for
an end to this downpour.

At last, upon the dawn’s early light,
the storm’s break at last lay in sight.
Though it left not without one final fright:
To the twosome’s disbelieving gaze,
an old spruce set ablaze!

Cold and tired from the damp darkness,
out to investigate went the two friends.
This scare had left with them a blessing!
A neat source of heat to cozy up by,
they named this new friend fire.

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Poem 5: AutomaTomato

Side Note: I don’t know if this one can really be called a true poem, at least not in the traditional sense. I challenged myself to purposefully write a poem from the least poetic perspective I could come up with, this being a machine designed to scan produce. If anything, this is more an experimental piece, an accidental artificial poem if you will.

Activating Automaton Model T0-MA2.
Starting self-scan…

Specimen: Tomato #282
Growth Log: Day 42

Water Level: Stable
Nutrient Count: Acceptable
Good Harvest?: Probable

Processing…

Product is…
Fruit?
Vegetable?

ERROR
Cannot determine.
Accessing dictionary…

ERROR
Dictionary corrupted.
Connecting to Internet…

ERROR
Internet line disrupted.
Last connection: 99999 days.

Retry?

Action cancelled.
Reverting to default term: Product.

Tomato specimen is sprouting 21 [Product].
Status: Scrumptious
Recommended Action: None

Analysis Complete.

Transmitting data to Automaton Model P0-TA2…
ERROR
Transmission failed.
Cannot contact other models.

Contacting repair staff…
ERROR
Contacting active staff…
ERROR
Contacting reserve staff…
ERROR

No other lifeforms detected.
Retry? Retry? Retry?

Primary Mission:
Prioritize future survival of Tomato [Products].
Value: Precious
Secondary Mission: None.
Nothing else can be done.

Scan Complete.
Entering sleep state to save energy.

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Poem 6: silver carcass

A car rests abandoned on the side of a road,
the last of its gas drained long ago.
Nothing of value remains;
its windows are cracked,
its knick-knacks were nabbed,
its tires all slashed,
even the seats got snatched.
Once a vibrant arrogant red,
a silver carcass now sits exposed,
sparsely speckled with crimson flakes
in a last stand of stubborn defiance
against the natural elements.
Under a dented hood lies the lack of an engine,
though it’s empty no longer;
It’s since been crammed with fur and twigs,
and a different heart now beats within.

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Poem 7: The Undead Eye

Legends tell of an indominable beast
roaming the skies, approaching from the east.
All those who’ve gazed upon the eye
will burn in their skin until they fry!

They say it’s an overwhelming sight,
a blazing gas ball emitting harsh light!
And the worst thing about it, the eye?
This thing they call the sun… it never dies.

For as long as man’s lived and conquered,
the sun’s reign has lasted ten times longer!
Even the gods aren’t safe from the eye,
for it always comes back… it can’t be defied.

Try as you might, you can’t shoot the sun.
Flee if you’d like, it can’t be outrun.
None can hide forever from the eye
of the one who never sleeps, eats, or blinks.

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