Gary Lucero Writer

Author AK Weller, well know for her thriller books and short stories, is an amazing graphic artist. She designed the cover and illustrations for In Letting Go, my book of poetry, and handled all the formatting and internal design.

 

She has a monthly newsletter, which you can sign up for here. In the latest issue, she introduced me as a writer and poet, and featured my new book! She has been very generous and is amazing to work with! If you need a great graphic artist, I recommend you check out her company, Westley Enterprises.

 

And for editing, I hightly recommend Lisa McCoy. She's another amazing person, a champion of self-published writers, and she's the one who turned me on to Westley Enterprises!

 

 

I was at a Southwest Writers meeting recently and I told the people sitting at the same table as myself that my forthcoming book, In Letting Go, is darkly themed poetry. One person asked me what that means.

 

I mistakenly said, "that life sucks."

 

I don't believe life sucks and my book isn't about that. But what is it about?

 

Some of the poems in In Letting Go seem straightforward enough. The first chapter, The Abyss of Time, has poems about growing older, about the evil that lurks within each one of us, and about failure and doubt. Many of the others in this chapter are expressing my views on life, on the government's mismanagement of their duty, and the plight of the average human being.

 

The second chapter, Realm of the Dead, is focused on death, which, as a 63-year-old, is an especially interesting subject to me.

 

I'm not sure how many years I have left in me.

 

I can feel the weight of those years as they press upon me, and it feels like time takes an unbelievable toll in so many ways, both mentally and physically. And while I realize that some people don't live long--they might not make it to their first birthday--for those of us fortunate to experience a long life, we also get to analyze our journey through it.

 

So the second chapter is focused on what death means to me, and in many ways, to all of humanity.

 

The third and last chapter, And So It Is With Heroes, is about a fantasy realm. Its poems are about places and people and what's happening as they fight the evil that not only surrounds them, but also lies within each of their hearts.

 

In Letting Go isn't about one thing. It's about life and death in a world where most things aren't simply black and white. And it's about a fantasy realm where nothing is black and white. It's about my journey and perspectives and outlook on life. And while I'm sure much of it can be appreciated by others because we are all connected in many ways, some of it is very personal.

 

In Letting Go releases on October 1st, 2024, a month from today. It will be available from all major booksellers.

 

If you like my musings here, there is a lot more on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Please connect with me there, or e-mail me.

AI can compose poetry

And its words might even stir the heart of man

But who would be so foul a human as to rely on it for such trickery?

 

Are we so starved for artistry that we must stoop to such depths?

Must we rely on the artificial to create something we wish to call our own?

Have we no idea what art means?

 

Art is humanity

 

It is from the soul of men and women

It is breath from our lungs

The blood from our veins

It is piss, and shit, and flem

 

No computer can summon such magic

No code can create from thin air something that stands the test of time

 

It can only mimic

It can only combine what it knows

 

It can't create from nothing

But you and I can

 

We can dream

We can imagine what no machine is capable of envisioning

We can see farther and better and more creatively

 

Computers cannot see

They cannot feel

They cannot taste

You cannot hurt them

They are unable to inflict pain

They fear not nor do they take chances

 

Computers have amazing brains

But no heart

They have cognitive abilities that surpass most humans

But they can't truly think

 

They are:

 

Vacant

Lifeless

Formless

Cold

Uncaring

Unmotivated

Unconcerned

And we must not trust them to entertain us, or to give us solace

 

We must trust ourselves

 

Our abilities

Our talent

Our cleverness

And the one thing that truly sets us apart from machines

 

Our ability to feel emotion

 

© Gary Luero 2024

 

If you like my poetry, there isa lot more on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Please connect with me there, or e-mail me.