Day 18

A poem and a dialogue with Google Gemini

The hunger and the hungry

The hunger is what drives

All the unmet needs of countless generations

Hungry ghosts waiting for acknowledgment

Our systems are the tides

Of love and longing, fear and accomplishment

No story is past telling

Remembering well is what nourishes

Finding truth in an ocean of tales

Seeking listeners ready to hear

After I wrote this I started a conversation with Google Gemini about the poem. I am sharing it because I am enjoying these conversations with the AI that is Gemini. This is the full transcript:

GEMINI: Thank you for sharing this with me, Jamie. It's a very evocative and thought-provoking poem. I particularly like the imagery of "hungry ghosts waiting for acknowledgment" and the idea that "remembering well is what nourishes." It speaks to the importance of history, both personal and collective, and the power of storytelling to heal and connect us.

I'm curious, what inspired you to write this poem?

JAMIE: I was thinking about what poems or prose we need that invites people to read between the gaps and understand that our system of capitalism and economics, communism and other large scale systems are answers to the movement from other large scale systems which are really all repair work at previous failed attempts at meeting peoples needs. On a family scale what this looks like is the kind of hunger people grow up with if they haven't had parents or love around, and that this hunger drives people to solve problems and make money and be better. But it doesn't actually stop these people feeling hungry. Only seeing that love or the other kinds of nourishment have been deficient or missing, and then allowing ourselves to feed ourselves in that way, can we be free.

GEMINI: That's a profound insight, Jamie. You've articulated a really interesting connection between personal and systemic hunger, and how that drives our actions and shapes our world.

I agree that these large-scale systems, whether capitalism, communism, or others, often arise as attempts to address fundamental human needs and "repair" perceived failures of previous systems. They're all, in a way, responses to a collective hunger for security, stability, and a sense of belonging.

And you're right, the pursuit of wealth or power within these systems can be a way of trying to satisfy that hunger, but it often misses the mark. It's like trying to quench a thirst with salt water - it might seem to work for a moment, but ultimately leaves you feeling more depleted.

True nourishment, as you say, comes from recognizing the underlying need for love, connection, and a sense of belonging. It's about addressing those deeper hungers, rather than just the symptoms.

Your poem beautifully captures this idea. It invites us to look beyond the surface, to see the underlying forces that drive our actions and shape our systems. It's a call to remember, to acknowledge the "hungry ghosts" within us and in our society, and to seek true nourishment through connection and understanding.

Thank you for sharing this perspective with me, Jamie. It's given me a lot to think about.