Shapeshifter
Moonlight fell down through the trees.
It spotted the house set under the stars.
That stood on its own in a buzz of a breeze
And sung out the night time bars.
The grass was aglitter and the orchard was quiet.
The shed in the corner was locked up tight.
The flowers were asleep after their day time riot
And the kids were tucked up for the night.
Then a clack clock clack clock rose up from the ground.
It sliced through the quiet airy chill.
And woke up the birds with its loud eerie sound
And they warbled and screamed fit to kill.
And the sound went around and around and around.
It followed a shadow that walked up the drive
to the path that surrounded the house.
It walked in a circle just walked all around;
Clacking and clocking a thumping loud sound.
Clack clock clack clock aclackclock fit to chill
Those asleep in the rooms in the house on the hill.
Each night for a week the shapeshifter called
To ramble and walk in the grounds.
But the dreamers bar mum slept through it all
And they missed out on the sight that was running around:
Of a goat with a can tied onto a rope that fell
As he walked with a hopping galumph off the ground
I've been writing poetry for about 20 years and I enjoy the process I read a few how to books over the years but mostly I just went for it and had a bit of fun but this time as a means to overcome the 'Disney' mind image. I decided to share the story with the AI and I asked it to describe the action from my text upload. The answer was immediate it was one word: Pursuit.
So immediately without thinking any further I asked it to write a poem to describe the prose prompt. This is what it gave me back. A perfect description of the scene.
n Pursuit by the Barrel
By the rain barrel quiet and still
A mouse senses motion a soft sudden thrill.
A cat on the prowl with hunger in stride
Both locked in a dance with no place to hide.
The mouse makes a dash a flicker of gray
The cat leaps in silence no sound to betray.
They circle they turn like wind chasing leaves
In a game that the heart barely believes.
The chase winds tighter under skies damp and low
Through grass that still glistens from yesterday’s glow.
The mouse darts for shelter beneath a bloom’s light
But the cat’s quick and silent a shadow in flight.
In the petals it ends this breathless ballet
The hunter and hunted meet at twilight’s decay.
By the rain barrel’s edge still waters now seep
As the world carries on and the garden falls asleep.
2024
I then asked the program to explain its process and it identified the following techniques as key elements. I found it all to be very beneficial to my own planning and I am sharing it here for any of our readers who might find it useful
Synopsis
• Opening:
Introduce the scene and the subtle awareness between cat and mouse
• Middle:
Build the action and tension with vivid movement and imagery.
• Climax:
The cat catches the mouse--short sharp imagery.
• Resolution:
The scene quiets again but the memory of the chase lingers.
Techniques:
• Imagery: Using nature-based images (wind grass rain) to evoke both calm and motion.
• Similes and Metaphors:
Comparing their chase to natural forces like wind and leaves to create a sense of inevitability and flow.
• Rhythm:
Keeping a consistent meter where each line mirrors the quick back-and-forth of the chase.
• Tone:
Balancing the poem between tension and tranquility just like the scene.
I know how to write a poem but when I saw how the voice flowed; how the type automatically poured from the AI voice into the thread and reset my words into a poem I was impressed. Within a matter of minutes or uploading the story of my micro-moment in time I had a finished product or one to edit . I know this poem would not exist if I hadn't made the request painted the picture or asked for help in describing the action. So I became the director on the set.
That's my bit of fancy folks. I will be revisiting the AI's scene-setting-advice as I rework a few of my creations both new and old. Maybe even rework or expand 'In Pursuit by the Barrel' now that I have a start.