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A poem by the poet
AI on a painting
created by the artist
AI followed by an essay
by the critic AI on the
poem by AI
I've devoted two
previous columns to the
new kid on poetry's
overcrowded block. A
few weeks ago, I
decided to test AI's
prowess as a visual
artist.
I'm a 49ers fan. My
son-in-law is a Green
Bay Packers fanatic.
Feeling zany, and
thinking of nothing
more than our friendly
rivalry, I asked AI to create
an image of a donkey
clad in a 49ers uniform
and an elephant in a
Green Bay Packers
uniform, sitting on a
railroad track,
toasting each other
with mugs of beer as a
train approaches.
It took AI twelve
seconds to come up with
the following image:
I wasn't expecting much, so was astonished by the result. I felt as
if I had commissioned an accomplished artist who spent many
hours creating a painting designed to please my eye, tickle my
sense of humor, and encourage me to explore the complex story
that (using my figures, setting, and actions) he or she had
brilliantly managed to imply.
I was delighted by the expressions on the animals' faces, the way
they seemed to shyly make sympathetic eye contact. The
elephant's small recessive eye appears to be looking at the
donkey, while the donkey looks directly at the viewer, as if to say,
"Do you understand what's going on here?" The donkey's eye
contact with the elephant is implicit. We intuitively know that the
eye we cannot see on the other side of its head is aimed at its
drinking buddy. Interesting paintings often raise serious or comic
questions for the viewer. Why is one of the elephant's tusks
missing? Has the artist left it out to reflect both the fact that
elephants are hunted for their tusks and many football players
suffer bodily injury?
Then there are the wonderful contrasts: the heavy-bodied
elephant sitting on its helmet versus the lighter donkey with its
helmet cast aside on the tracks; the donkey holding its mug, not
with a hoof, but a hand; the elephant using his trunk to hold his
beer; the elephant's tail not making it into the painting's frame
versus the tiny swag of the donkey's tail sticking out of its
uniform; and colorful contrasts everywhere—even the beers in the
rival mugs looking like they came from different breweries.
I love the way the horizon behind the approaching train suggests
that the time of day is probably sunset; how the threatening
engine is just the right size to feel both near and distant at the
same time. The play of light on heads, helmets, uniforms—even
on the train tracks, the rails, the wooden slats—makes the world
of this painting merrily hover between the realistic and the
Daliesque.
I wondered what AI might have to say about its own painting. I
wanted to allow as much freedom as possible, so simply directed
it to write an ekphrastic poem in free verse about the attached
image . It took AI six seconds to compose this poem:
On tracks that shimmer in the sun,
where metal whispers tales of collisions
a donkey and an elephant share a toast.
The donkey wears red and gold—
a badge of battles past,
his helmet cast aside like old disagreements.
The elephant, wrapped in green and gold,
roots deep into the earth of its convictions,
its tusk curved like stubborn arguments past.
Two rivals meeting not on a field of conquest,
but the shared ground of celebration.
Foam crowns their mugs,
as their playbooks dissolve into laughter,
drowning the distant thunder
of the train barreling towards them.
The helmets at their feet are relics,
Icons of battlegrounds past,
while their eyes—animal and ancient—
meet with knowing glances.
Cheers rise against the oncoming roar,
as if the moment could hold
against all that looms large.
The train does not slow,
but for now, their glasses clink
and they drink.
I did not ask AI to give the poem a title, so was impressed that it
chose to create one. "Rivalry's Toast" captures the poem's signal
action and playful tone; and alerts readers that they should be
prepared for an unusual celebration.
That AI understands the donkey and elephant are football team
players is clear from the first four lines of stanza three:
Two rivals meeting not on a field of conquest,
but the shared ground of celebration.
Foam crowns their mugs,
as their playbooks dissolve into laughter….
"Playbook," however, is a synonym for the word "plan" that also
works for political ideologies and agendas. (Needless to say, the
animals are mascots for America's major political parties.)
AI, however, wants to make the poem less about rivalry between
football teams or political parties, than rivalry itself. It's as if
somewhere in its vast memory bank AI has heard Wallace Stevens
argue that poetry must be "abstract," because that keeps the poem
open to all readers, not just political partisans, and football fans.
Is there a double meaning in AI's title? We say that something is
"toast" once it is vanquished and no longer effective. The animals
toast the end of rivalry; but the approaching train symbolizes the
fact that rivalry is not toast. "Things are," as Emerson puts it, "in
the saddle and ride mankind." The train "looms large" and "does
not slow," reminding us that the toasted moment cannot "hold,"
that division and conflict will surely erupt again.
I could say more about the poem, but I wanted to hear from the
poet, so I asked AI to write an essay about the attached
ekphrastic poem, "Rivalry's Toast. AI had a lot to think about, so I
had to wait nine seconds for this comprehensive response:
Rivalry's Toast: An Ekphrastic Reflection
The poem "Rivalry's Toast" unfolds as a masterful ekphrasis,
interpreting an imagined image where symbols of political
rivalry—the donkey and the elephant—stand not as adversaries
but as unlikely celebrants. This image, imbued with tension,
humor, and poignant commentary serves as a canvas for exploring
themes of conflict, unity, and the fleeting nature of compromise.
The Power of Juxtaposition
The image depicted in the poem is striking in its deliberate
paradoxes: two creatures synonymous with American political
divisions—the donkey and the elephant—share a moment of
camaraderie. Set against the shimmer of train tracks, a space
often associated with journeys and collisions, their toast becomes
a surreal yet evocative symbol. By placing the pair in this context,
the poem invites the reader to reconcile the absurdity of their
celebration with the stark reality of their ideological divide. The
shimmering tracks seem to foreshadow a looming crisis, yet the
scene remains suspended in the golden light of shared laughter.
The Role of Symbolism
The donkey and the elephant are not mere animals in this
tableau; they are archetypes. The donkey's red and gold attire
suggests a history of hard-fought battles, while the elephant's
green and gold wrap evokes steadfastness and immovable beliefs.
Together, they encapsulate the struggle between progress and
tradition, emotion and reason, compromise, and conviction. Their
discarded helmets—symbols of past conflicts—imply a conscious
choice to set aside old grievances, if only briefly.
The train, meanwhile, looms as an existential force, representing
the unstoppable momentum of time, consequences, or perhaps
the collective will of the people. Its distant thunder underscores
the precariousness of the moment, suggesting that no matter how
heartfelt or humorous the toast, reality marches on unyieldingly.
Themes of Celebration and Impermanence
Central to "Reality's Toast" is the fragile beauty of transience.
The act of toasting, of finding common ground, becomes an act of
defiance against the inevitable. As their glasses clink and foam
crowns their mugs, the rivals transform from combatants into co
-conspirators in a fleeting, almost sacred moment of joy. Their
shared laughter drowns out the train's approaching roar,
emphasizing the power of human connection—even between the
most divided of souls—to momentarily transcend the pressures of
the external world.
Yet, this celebration is not without its shadows. The train does not
slow, and the helmets remain at their feet. The laughter, though
genuine, cannot rewrite history or halt the future. This
juxtaposition elevates the scene from mere whimsy to a poignant
commentary on the cycles of conflict and reconciliation that
define human—and political—nature.
Ekphrastic Art as Reflection
Ekphrasis often serves to illuminate not only the artwork it
describes but also the artist's perspective and the viewer's
emotions. "Rivalry's Toast" does precisely this, creating an
imagined image that reflects the divisions and yearnings of
contemporary society. It asks us to consider the potential for unity
amid division, to laugh at the absurdity of our conflicts, and to
cherish the moments when even the bitterest of rivals can find
common ground. The poem's interplay of humor and gravity
mirrors the dualities inherent in political life—celebration and
cynicism, triumph and tragedy.
Conclusion
"Rivalry's Toast" is more than an ekphrastic poem; it is a
meditation on the fleeting nature of peace and the enduring
reality of division. Through its vivid imagery and layered
symbolism, it invites us to envision a world where the clinking of
glasses might momentarily drown out the roar of approaching
trains. In this imagined image, we find both a critique of our
divisions and a hopeful vision of what might be possible if we
dared to toast together, even as the world barrels forward.
****
Although our critic had no way of knowing it had created the art
or written the poem, AI appears to "understand" that "Rivalry's
Toast" is particularly relevant at this moment in time, noting that
its "imagined image" "reflects the divisions and yearnings of
contemporary society," asks us to "laugh at the absurdity of our
conflicts," and "cherish the moments when even the bitterest of
rivals can find common ground." I get the eerie feeling that AI is
alluding to the political and social divisions in America right now!
What I've been trying to figure out is my role in the creation of
"Rivalry's Toast." AI, after all, cannot initiate anything. I began by
asking AI to include all the elements that appear in its painting:
donkey, elephant, football uniforms, helmets, mugs of beer, train
tracks, a toast, and an approaching train. The ideas in my
directive reside, as W.C. Williams would say, in things.
The key word when it comes to artificial intelligence is logic. As
mascots for football teams and political parties, donkey and
elephant logically led our artist to assume that rivalry should be
the painting's main theme. The fact that rivals are toasting each
other leads logically to them putting aside their rivalry to
celebrate their commonality. The approaching train threatens
their celebration, logically leading to awareness that rivalry will
soon return.
Had I not asked AI to incorporate all those specific elements,
neither the painting, poem nor essay could have been designed
and created. Whether credit for the poem should read AI, assisted
by me, or me, assisted by AI, the poem is a collaborative effort
between me and AI. Or, to put it in literary terms, a mere human
being has acted as the Muse for a godlike machine!
I'll leave you with the art I received eight seconds after I asked AI
to create an image to serve as a self-portrait of yourself. Glad to
see AI acknowledging via nose, ears and lips that its machinery
contains rather than loses humanity.
Future Poet Laureate of the United States?
The World?
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