A poem from my archives entitled “On a Quiet Sunday”:
On a quiet Sunday
In Spring
I heard the clock’s
Tick tock.
It said, “this day
Of spring
Is full of sunshine.
Girls without socks
Play. But sunshine
Does not stay.
And all rhyme
Has it’s time”.
An interesting and thought provoking post on the impact of artificial intelligence (both positive and negative) on society, including on the creative industries https://rlpastore.com/2024/07/01/ai-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/.
As a blind student in my twenties, I used a machine called a Kurzweil. It was roughly the size of a photocopier and the user would open the lid, place printed material on the scanner, press a button and have the material (book, letter or whatever) read aloud to them.
The above mentioned technology cost thousands of pounds, while today software can be downloaded onto any modern computer/laptop and (with the help of a Twain compatible scanner) printed material can be read aloud at a fraction of the cost of that in my youth.
On my iPhone I have an app called Be My Eyes. As a visually impaired person I can point my phone’s camera at a food packet, tin Etc and have the label read to me which means no longer having to ask sighted people for assistance (well in most instances). In those instances where the app fails, there is the option for the user to connect with a human volunteer who, with the aid of the phone’s camera can assist the visually impaired enquirer.
Turning to the potential negative impacts of AI, from the evidence I’ve seen thus far I am not convinced that the massive job losses predicted by some are coming any time soon (if at all). Ai can, for example, enable lawyers to retrieve information much faster. However, it can not (and I can never see it) replacing a highly trained lawyer in a court of law. Likewise, AI can hoover up vast amounts of data enabling it to create writing, including stories and poetry. However, it does not, in my experience possess the creativity of humans.
In 2023, I published a collection entitled “More Poetic Meanderings”. The greater part of the book is comprised of poems composed by me. However, a shorter section contains poetry written with the assistance of AI, including a couple of my original poems (published at an earlier date) updated with the aid of artificial intelligence.
You can find “More Poetic Meanderings” on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats More Poetic Meanderings eBook : Morris, K : Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store.
As ever I’d be interested in the views of my readers.
My thoughts turn
To carpet burns.
A girl and I
By my gas fire.
I remember the flame
Of my desire.
But her name …?
On 24 June, I was interviewed by Ariadne Sawyer of the World Poetry Reading Series about my recently released poetry collection, “The Churchyard Yew and Other Poems”. The show was broadcast on Thursday 27 June and is now available as a podcast here World Poetry Cafe for June 27 with Kevin Morris by VictorSchwartzman | Mixcloud
My interview begins approximately 13 minutes into the podcast. During the interview, I read from “The Churchyard Yew” and discuss my poetry and writing process.
“The Churchyard Yew and Other Poems” is available as a Kindle download from Amazon and can be found here The Churchyard Yew and Other Poems eBook : Morris, K: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
I was pleased to receive this 5 star review of my recently published collection, “The Churchyard Yew and Other Poems”:
“… The poems in this short but sweet collection cover myriad topics in a variety of styles. Some are about churchyards while others are about humans and animals. My favorite is “Going to Hell in a Hand Cart,” a perfect way to end the book. If you like straightforward, entertaining poetry, this book is for you.”
(To read the review in full please visit Amazon.co.uk:Customer reviews: The Churchyard Yew and Other Poems).
I find dust
In old books.
While in the summer churchyard
The birds twitter.
They have no bitter
Thoughts of dust.
The graves impassively stand.
I can not command
Death to stay his hand.
Yet some say we may
Achieve immortality.
Where we to achieve immortality
Should I put away Gray’s
“Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”?
The graveyard plot answers not
For the dead Are at peace.
The dancing girls depart
And leave behind:
A man’s lustful heart,
An unquiet mind
And the poet’s art.
There once was an old squire named Ray
Who liked to go shooting all day.
His handsome butler called Morgan
Was good on the organ,
And the squire’s wife she loved to play!
Perfume in a forbidden garden.
Desires hidden behind friendly smiles.
Paradise held no inhibitions.
Society celebrates the variety
Of nearly all.
But some falls
Can not be forgiven.
So Adam waits
Though the Devil prates
Of outdated convention.
But the fruit
Is not quite ripe.
I was delighted to receive the following 4 star review of my collection of poetry, “The Churchyard Yew and Other Poems” on Goodreads:
“This is a collection of almost 70 short poems. Most are reflections on mortality and the inevitability of death. Many compare human life to physical phenomena that do not experience death, or to nature, which transcends it. Weather and seasons are mentioned often, both as background and symbol …”.
(The full review can be found here Audrey Driscoll’s review of The Churchyard Yew and Other Poems (goodreads.com) The review is also on Amazon here Contemplations of Mortality (amazon.ca)
K Morris - Poet 