human is …
you want us to find the human stuff
filter out the artificial, the derivative
the janky redundant crap
we are your quality police
sieves for automation
strainers for the indecent
and we are rewarded with a mystery,
a black box that only sparingly shares
its jackpot and even more seldom shares
its secrets … and yet we carry on,
eyes fixed, necks rigid, faces smiling forward
we work diligently, for you
being the purveyors of purity and “truth”
the exemplars that you want us to be…
but you don’t admit the darkest shit
the pain, the horror, the embarrassing
ugly shame, the true stamp of the human
is to plaster the walls with eternal damnation
you must allow the imperfect, the sudden,
the spontaneous effluvia of zeal and musk
you must shine your light on the paltry
and the broken … human is typos and misspelling
amateur photographs, and accidental re-tellings
human is lying and deception,
concealers and blurry reflection
but no, you want the crisp clean waters
the most crystal drinkable stuff
the stuff that flows smoothly down
from the heavens, icy cool from the mountains
yeah, we don’t have that here
Franco Amati 2024
