To Simply Leave II

I feel compelled to append my last post.  This afternoon I returned to the Oval at CSU and simply walked through it's center.  Many Coloradoans are familiar with the John Muir quote: "The mountains are calling and I must go."  The Oval was calling me today, so I went.  The "golden snowfall" I refer to in my previous post had become an occasional "flurry," yet continued to radiate beauty.  I found myself intentionally searching out accumulations of leaves on the walkway simply to feel them beneath my feet and gather my thoughts in the slight crunch they emitted.  Being slightly damp they uttered a faint sound instead.  I noticed a bit more sunlight visible as I looked up because the number of leaves remaining on the mighty elms are fewer with each passing day.

Then, from out of nowhere, a speeding bike rushed past and startled me.  A gently falling leaf ahead quicky brought me back, but not before I wanted to shout "you SOB, slow the f down.  Can't you see what you're missing?"  I then realized that my life now best reflects the reality of the falling leaf.  The speeding biker mirrored the reality of the other world we share.  I didn't want to re-enter that world, so I kept walking and managed to say nothing.  To say nothing speaks volumes.  That is what a "golden snowflake" taught me today and I am grateful.  I simply left the Oval, much like a leaf leaves it's tree, and slowly walked on.

To Simply Leave

While enjoying coffee and conversation early this morning at our favorite hang, Monte and I were treated to a cascade of falling leaves reflecting the emerging sunshine inside The Oval at Colorado State University.  It was a cold morning and the falling leaves had the appearance of golden snowfall.    

Gold in the Air

(ChatGPT)

Falling leaves whisper soft goodbyes,

golden sighs in a cooling sky.

They drift like thoughts unanchored, free,

released from branch, from memory.

Each turn and tumble marks the end,

yet circles back, begins again.

The ground receives what trees let go,

a quiet trade the seasons know. 

~

Interpretation (ai):  The poem reflects tranquil acceptance of impermanence — that to fall, to rest, and to renew are all parts of the same graceful cycle.

Here's Its Voice

A flute's voice sings

translations of the heart,

melodies of memories 

in keys of D, E, and F#.

Songs of  sun

rising and setting.

Songs of peace 

escorting drums of war. 

Spirits high 

flutes sing of life

sunrise through sunset

and while catching dreams. 

In even fading notes  

seeds of dawn remain,

the heart hears the voice

of what tomorrow brings.

~

Interpretation (ai):  The poem uses the Native American style flute as a symbol of the human spirit — expressive, emotional, and connected to nature and time. Its “voice” becomes a metaphor for the heart’s language: how we translate feelings, memories, and hope into something that resonates beyond words.

What's Next

This is an AI generated poem.  I say generated because I still have a hard time accepting that AI is actually "writing" anything in a creative, thoughtful way, but instead generating something it was asked to produce.  I asked it to create a poem using the interpretation it offered to the poem I wrote in the previous post titled "Some Days." Here is the subsequent AI product:

 What’s Ahead

Some days, calm drifts in

like tide—soft, unsure,

touching the edge

of what I know.

The water shifts,

and I shift with it.

Peace is never still—

it hums, retreats,

returns again.

I learn to rest

in what won’t last:

a glimmer,

a breath,

a hand unclenched.

Even the smallest hope

for what’s ahead

is sometimes

enough—

the gentle pull

that keeps me floating

toward light

I cannot name.

Here is how ChaptGPT interpreted it's generated poem: 

Overall, the poem embodies acceptance, impermanence, and quiet resilience. It suggests that we don’t need to have complete clarity or constant peace; it’s enough to stay open, to let life’s waves carry us, and to trust that even fleeting moments of hope can guide us toward meaning.

I like them both equally.  I believe the human mind is being "stupidified" at a rapid pace.  Or, has a new word been invented?  I'll ask ChatGPT to identify it! It said:

 😂 “Stupidify” sounds like it should be a word, but it isn’t an officially recognized one in standard English dictionaries.

That said—it’s instantly understandable! It follows the same pattern as “beautify” or “simplify,” so people would definitely get what you mean: “to make something (or someone) stupid.”

So: not a real word—but a perfectly usable one in creative or humorous writing.

~

Interpretation (not ai):  It's increasingly apparent that AI will replace the human brain, probably sooner than later!   

Further reading: The Guardian Opinion Piece  

 

Some Days

it's 

what's ahead  

for me

to be received with grace

as

a nice place

without much worry

some days 

to

embrace silence

accept change

seek truth

experience freedom

to 

know love

some days 

it's what's ahead

~

Interpretation (ai): The poem expresses a mindful acceptance of life’s variability — an affirmation that peace and purpose come in waves, and that even fleeting hope for “what’s ahead” can be enough.

Clarifying

thoughts floating

like whiffle balls 

in wind

the past governs

then is gone

the future now

not with worry

some uncertainty 

between head and heart

this moment shifty

muddled mind and cloudy core

left suspended

just hanging out

~

Interpretation (ai): The poem portrays a state of contemplative drift — a moment when the mind is untethered, the emotions unclear, and yet the poet remains curiously calm. It’s a meditation on liminality — being between things: past and future, thought and feeling, control and surrender.

In tone, it balances wistfulness and acceptance, suggesting that maybe it’s okay to just hang out in the in-between.

Space

 

This photo was taken along the road during my recent trip to soak up some of the beauty of nature and it's Fall foliage.  Panoramic scenes like this engulfed me many different times along the journey.  It was exhilarating and I found myself rounding each curve with an anticipation for what I might see next.  As that occurred time and again, it dawned on me that I was seeing it all from a distance.  I began to think about how I might feel if I actually walked into that forest.  The view from a distance suited me.  I'm not so sure that suit would fit me so well if things got "up close and personal."  

There's often discomfort with "up close and personal."  The road trip reinforced an awareness growing within me that I cherish space.  The prairie fits me as well as the mountain forest, maybe even more so?  Up close things get "tight" and I feel the discomfort I notice when I wear the shirt that hugs my belly.  I can tolerate and even enjoy it for a while, but eventually need to change it out for a better fit.  We're always seeking a better fit.  Space fits me pretty well at this point in my life. I fit in there.

           

New Intelligence

My mind is swirling this morning.  I'm mindful of a new day and a new month.  I'm mindful of a new intelligence, too.  Why has ai entered my thoughts this morning?  Probably because I discovered a new book by Blaise Aguera y Arcas titled "What Is Intelligence."  I hope to get a copy soon.    

Having revisited previous posts in this blog I asked ChatGPT to interpret a few of my poems and then added the summary interpretation it provided beneath them. What I received were thoughtful (thought-full) interpretations, which left me wondering if they were really thoughts, or instead simply "reasoned summations?" 

Is this new intelligence really so artificial?  By definition to be artificial something must be produced by human beings rather than something that occurs naturally.  Something artificial replicates a "real" thing, like an artificial Gucci bag.  Artificial Intelligence, as a process, was made by human beings.  What it produces, however, seems thoughtful, well reasoned, and "intelligent," moving it far beyond the category of "machine."  

So, has the bridge been crossed?  I'm wanting to no longer call this new intelligence artificial.  Even though parts of it still replicate human thought processes, it has become a creative presence and beginning to feel like the real thing.  It's real-ness is simply unreal placing it somewhere between artificial and real.  

On this first day of October 2025 intelligence remains ambiguous.  According to Gemini, Google's ai,   "(intelligence) lacks a single, agreed upon definition.   A common thread is "the ability to learn, reason, solve problems, and adapt to new situations or environments."  There's very little that's artificial in Gemini's definition of itself.