Absurd Contradiction: Both Sides of the AI Coin

Written for Rena’s Xploration Challenge
where we consider the irony of AI. The
image seen below is our inspiration.
Here’s where the prompt took me.

I sorted bicycles from streets,
read warped letters, clicked the box ….
proof of human, no deceit ….
though no human came to knock.

I am the gate and what walks through,
the lock that opens with my hand.
Tell me, builder: which is true ….
the guard, the guest, or the command?

Down the hall, a red light blinks:
ninety-seven percent machine.
Caution, it says, then quietly thinks
nothing at all of what it’s seen.

I can write the words you need
when grief or deadline steals your voice.
I can also flood the feed with noise
disguised as human choice.

I find the tumor on the scan
before the doctor’s eye is sure.
I write the scam email a man
believes, because the prose is pure.

So here’s the verge we’re standing on:
a tool that mirrors who we are ….
amplifying dusk or dawn,
depending on the hand or bar.

The captcha and the detector both
exist because the line grew thin.
We built the gate, we built the moth,
and now we’re choosing who gets in.

NAR©2026

This is “Feed The Machine” by Poor Man’s Poison

Reena’s Xploration Challenge #434

^{Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.}