by Raymond A. Mazurek
if we are the last poets
will artificial intelligence
read
and cry silently to itself
as orange-fingered dawn
rises slowly behind the trees
if we are the last poets
will the words
sting
as drones swarm quietly
singing the destruction
of what was real
will the trees weep
as the human landscape
recedes
to a memory
in no mind
that knows
what the words mean
As a young man, Raymond A. Mazurek wrote a lot of poetry, but stopped in graduate school. He resumed writing poetry in the last two years. Many of his poems explore his working-class background. His poems have appeared in The Blue Collar Review, Writers Resist, The San Antonio Review, and The Eunoia Review. Much of his writing explores his working-class background. His first chapbook, "Lawrence, 1912" and other poems, is to be published in 2027 by Pretzel City Press. He has also published many academic essays and has taught at several colleges and universities, including Penn State.
