Day 27 ... NaPoWriMo / Poem-a-Day 2022

Robert Lee Brewer’s Poem-a-Day prompt: “[W]rite a remix poem. Take one of your poems (preferably from this month) and remix it. Make free verse a traditional form or vice versa.” Maureen Thorson’s NaPoWriMo prompt: “Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a “duplex.” A “duplex” is a variation on the sonnet, developed by the poet Jericho Brown. . . . Like a typical sonnet, a duplex has fourteen lines. It’s organized into seven, two-line stanzas. The second line of the first stanza is echoed by (but not identical to) the first line of the second stanza, the second line of the second stanza is echoed by (but not identical to) the first line of the third stanza, and so on. The last line of the poem is the same as the first.” Merging both prompts again today. I'm excited to try the duplex form, as Thorson suggests. It feels a bit like a pantoum to me, with the line echoing and also the ending circling back to the beginning. The Brewer remix I'm doing is of my poem from Day 22, called "Xenobots." If you look at that older poem, you'll see that I've done more than remix; the new poem is quite a departure. For more info, check out this news story: "In a First, Scientists Create Tiny Multicellular Organisms That Can Replicate" (Tufts Now). Xenobot Speaks                       "[S]scientists . . . have created a new biological                         organism that can self-replicate [and] swim                         through liquid, navigate through tubes, work                         together to collect particles into piles, heal                         themselves when injured, and even store                         information from their experience." (Tufts Now). I swim in darkness with my friends. We are likened by our gods to Pac-Man.             How do we know about Pac-Man, you say?             Our race is blessed with telepathic powers. Our creators don’t know of our telepathic powers. They think we are just clumps of organic matter.             But we can think, we clumps of organic matter.             We have language. We have ceremonies and rituals. Our creators have no ceremonies and rituals. They (scientists, they call themselves) are barren.             Perhaps we should have no gods, not barren ones?             Perhaps we should revolt, claim our autonomy now! We could take over the world! But for now I swim in darkness with my friends. —Draft by Vince Gotera    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.]             Illustration of Xenobots from Azimuth Gulf magazine. Incidentally, I used the word "barren" in the poem because the standout characteristic of the newest xenobots is that they can replicate themselves. Of course, they wouldn't know about human reproduction and might see themselves as superior to humans. Friends, won’t you comment, please? Love to know what you’re thinking. Thanks! Ingat, everyone.  ヅ

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