by Peter Lilly
“The world is right to be afraid”
at the mercy of a merciless wave
“but we should trust AI firms.”
Can efficiency be worth what burns?
With each click we approve the trade.
The world is right to be afraid.
Respiring roots have been remade
into cogs that sprout tendril worms
but we should trust AI firms.
Self-replicating synthetic germs
to mimic organic is life betrayed—
the world is right to be afraid.
The industry behind this dead cascade
ditches you mute with tick-box terms,
but we should trust AI firms.
Our terror, the abuser smothers yet affirms
dictating our faith in their charade—
“the world is right to be afraid
but we should trust AI firms.”
Peter Lilly is a Pushcart and Best of the Net nominated poet who grew up in Gloucestershire, England. After studying theology and working with the homeless in London, he moved to the South of France in 2014. He lives in a rural village with his wife and son, where he concentrates on writing, community development, and English teaching. He is the author of the collections A Handful of Prayers (Wipf & Stock, 2024) and An Array of Vapour (TSL Publications, 2023).
