“People worry that computers will get too smart and take over the world, but the real problem is that they’re too stupid, and they’ve already taken over the world.”
— Pedro Domingos

Write an extended free verse poem
of about 350 words in twelve stanzas
of roughly equal length,
in the manner of a Pulitzer Prize-winning poem.
Embed, fuse, or decontextualize
unlikely liaisons.
Ransack uncertainties.
Resort to invective or vilification
at least once. Being careful to avoid stylish
self-righteousness and glamour,
concoct a catechism
that compels the reader to continue.
Suggest machine- or dreamlike conceits
involving the sixth sense. Then burrow into deceit,
or prowl around immorality’s dark alleys.
Plunder with impunity to help cobble together
a simulacrum of shamelessness (or humility)
that offends at least four middle-class sensibilities.
Allow some similes to ramble on.
Set a few words free, or nudge them
to incite a rebellion.
Mimic imitation’s false confidence.
Incorporate exotic mandates.
Hover over uncertainties here and there.
Offer a little merriment or flippancy
(if required).
Contrive a line
that calls to children hiding under leaves.
Let some words linger on the tongue, or lounge
in the larynx until a state of grace is reached,
bringing joy and goodwill
to all readers. Explore strange new words. Seek out new lines
and new lineation—to boldly go
where no poet has gone before.
Near the end of the poem, convey solemnity, or just cavort with delight and frivolity
for the fun of it.
Include allusions that ring, blink,
freeze, or forge through snow-swept hollows. Leave five lines to fend for themselves,
or slither into shallows
to divulge or concede something secretly. See into the future, to somehow involve the sad story of a singer’s withholding of air, focusing on her intransigence.
Permit a few transgressions,
or propose alternatives to secondary
suggestions involving slant rhymes
that lurk in dim-lit caves
or mosey up to the water’s edge
to summon spirits.

Canadian-born composer and poet John Cole is based in Japan. Trained in contemporary music, he now focuses on poetry exploring rhythm, silence, and structure. His work has appeared in The Lake, Poetry Pacific, and Eskimo Pie.