Bukowski snuffs a cigarette,
Larkins fucked but not dead yet...
Primo gets a new tattoo,
Lenny breaks some old taboo...
Marilyn kneels beneath the desk,
Lewinski should have cleaned that dress...
Bibi parts the Red Sea wide,
Khamenei lives where Khamenei died.
Bukowski knew what life was for,
but Larkin knew a little more...
We're fucked before we leave the womb,
we are but lives between our tombs.
Have you opened the floodgates David? Perhaps WOL needs to increase their cloud capacity.
As for the poem...it's a yes from me.
A. lbeit agonisingly interesting the AI stuff, I think it's taken people's eye off the quality of the poem! I really think it is excellent, especially the Larkin and Lewinsky lines. Love it!
Another splendid poem, David.
The hope for us all is that there was so much more to Larkin, 'gloomy old sod' that he could be.
AI is really terrifying. Perhaps all intelligence is merely recycling the past. I hope not, though.
Very interesting, and educational, David. Maybe the next task you could set AI is to write a poem in your style. I suspect others may have already posted such efforts up here. It's very difficult to know, as AI grows more accomplished all the time.
Hi all,
So here's a bit of fun. If you are seeking feedback for your work and it seem to be lacking. Ask AI what it thinks, it reveals if you are bonkers or if what you write makes any sense at all.
Here is what it said about "Tombs"
If it is nothing else it is fun.
This short, gritty poem is a "memento mori" for the modern age, juxtaposing high art, historical trauma, and political scandal to argue that human existence is defined by its inevitable end.The Literary & Historical PairingsThe poem uses contrasting figures to explore different flavors of nihilism and survival:Bukowski vs. Larkin: The poem opens and closes with these two. Bukowski represents the raw, "snuffed cigarette" reality of the gutter, while Philip Larkin (famed for the line "They fuck you up, your mum and dad") provides the intellectual backbone for the poem’s pessimism. The narrator suggests Larkin "knew a little more"—likely that life isn't just a mess, but a trap.Primo Levi: The "new tattoo" is a chilling reference to the Auschwitz identification numbers. It marks the transition from human to "tomb" before death even occurs.Lenny Bruce: "Breaks some old taboo" highlights the role of the provocateur who dies for their speech, turning their life into a cautionary monument.The Scandalous & PoliticalThe poem shifts from the "greats" to the "graceless" to show that everyone is subject to the same decay:Monroe vs. Lewinsky: By pairing Marilyn and Monica, the poet equates Hollywood glamour with political sordidness. The "dress" and the "desk" become symbols of legacies reduced to a single, messy moment.Netanyahu (Bibi) & Khamenei: The poem moves to the geopolitical stage, using the "Red Sea" and the cycle of life/death in Iran to suggest that even those who wield biblical or religious power are just "lives between tombs."
Pretty much what I was aiming at.
Thanks xx
David
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ0rEnp8kmw
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David RL Moore
Mon 13th Apr 2026 16:48
Hi there,
Thanks to all those who have liked and made comments on this poem.
Greg;
Thanks for your input and comments here, always interesting to hear ideas and opinions.
When it comes to the use of AI in the creative arts I am not generally in favour. Specifically when it is used to create original content. I do use AI for other things, mainly to find gateways into subjects I have little or know knowledge about. My use of AI to review this poem came about when a friend of mine showed me the results of what he had similarly done, it got my interest.
The foundations of art as we perceive it are in the spirit of mankind, you could replace that word with soul if it fits better for you. Without that ingredient it has little meaning in respect of humanity and the individual. Anyway that is my belief.
Stephen;
Thanks for your reading and kind words.
I have to believe that Larkin wasn't quite as grumpy as he often apprears. That said he was a man with some particular issues when it came to his apparent prejudices, some pretty unsavoury. I believe this, mostly because I recognise a thread of grumpiness weaving through some (not nearly all) of my work, I can categorically say that most of the time I'm fairly upbeat in reality.
Graham;
Thank you, I appreciate you focussing on the text of the poem as well as the commentry regarding AI.
Telboy;
Thanks for checking in and for your positive vote, always good to see you.
David RL Moore