Could a Robot Do THIS?!
Grace Phillips
honeybee’s fuzzed orange butt wiggle ~ I saw one bee ~ hungry thirsty ~ on a sign ~ “Danger: 300 Volts” ~ the sign was yellow ~ sunflower yellow ~ ragwort yellow ~ yellow rattle yellow ~ yelling yellow ~ ‘come hither’ yellow ~ like a cartoon sun’s funked rays ~ gesturing wildly to green ~ sap sipping ~ hungry thirsty ~ hungry thirsty ~ sunlit chug chug ~ oh watch humanity’s threadbare focus ~ waver ~ data centre water ~ all a-chug chug ~ suck to fuck ~ sapping sip ~ utter shit ~ this nested question ~ who knows upon what soil they fed ~ who knows what fed ~ this questionable answer ~ buried an almanac not ~ the hatchet ~ we are getting hotter ~ getting hotter ~ getting hotter ~ trochaic doggerel ~ the isle is full of noise ~ seamless needless ~ those hungry thirsty roots ~ scooch closer baby closer ~ call this digital ~ don’t you know what digit means ~ got your finger in the wrong pie ~ art is handmade ~ yes we’re supposed to use our hands ~ not this digital brain fidget ~ can’t sit still ~ digitalis ~ who knows upon what soil they fed ~ us ~ this unquestioned ~ can we swallow water a different way ~ yuck this neat ~ fed up ~ regurgitation ~ what droughtful doubtful counting ~ gimme a one zero one zero ~ generate ~ binary ~ binary ~ binary ~ lemme rewild this ~ you can lead a horse to water ~ but you can’t make it think ~ I watch you ~ pith merchants ~ robot parasocialite ~ yes thinking is hard ~ yes thinking is vital ~ the digitalis do not grow to flower overnight ~ and my hungry thirsty brain ~ craves a lap of focus ~ call me bitter ~ but we are ~ getting hotter ~ I won’t fling data ~ in an abyss ~ this generative ~ degeneration ~ my generation sinks or swims ~ on electric currents ~ take me to the water ~ I want to drink ~ and think ~ and think
GRACE PHILLIPS (she/her) is a queer poet, interested in entering language through the side door. She received the UEA Jarrold Prize for outstanding work across her undergraduate degree. She is also the recipient of the 2024 Ink, Sweat & Tears Scholarship. Her Instagram is @gracelolapoetry
