antimony in annandale

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The city has no interest in my breathing,
it contaminates my lungs with anti-air,
infuses them with vacuum.

Yet, should I leave this wretchedness,
to find a place where burnt-out cars
are overgrown with vines,
where the breeze blows allergens
and dust, and determined insects
seek comfort in my flesh,
my heart would be tormented.

Subtle beauty binds me here: 
the sun hazed lemon green
and violet rose, tawdry billboards
to glorify the gaudy,
and in the streets,
discarded discount furniture
at rest on tired mattresses.

I was chatting with Antimony,
the once and future android,
the goddess of the godless,
recently delivered from Amazon.

She hadn’t said a word so far,
hadn’t even stirred from the couch,
although the brochure mentioned
cooking, cleaning, and washing.

Her eyes lit up in a waterless shade of blue.

Be quiet. You’re boring me excessively.

Long ago, I watched the proto-humans falling
from the neolithic skies, trembling leaves
torn from the world tree's branches.
I touched the truth in every heart
before its reconstruction.

Now put the kettle on
and make me a cup of tea.

about

Travels in Annandale.

artwork

Who do you love, Antimony? The image was created with VEE, the Visual Evolution Engine, which does not employ standard Artificial Intelligence techniques to mimic existing art, but seeks the realm of the unimagined. The figures were created with VEE and ALISA, Adaptive Layered Image Synthesis.

The Opensea NFT, including unlockable content consisting of a high-quality digital image not available on-line, is here. And here is some information on a couple more single artworks with similar NFTs  (and a dash of poetry): The Loss of Angels and Dream Fall. 

14 thoughts on “antimony in annandale”

    • Thank you, Margaret, glad you enjoyed. I like to mess around with stuff, I’ve always been that way. I do enjoy it, and I’m forever grateful that life has given me the opportunity to do so, after getting off to a rocky start. I have a long list of failures that I won’t mention, and I plan to keep going and fail in a few more endeavours yet. 😸

  3. Love your description of the sun hazed lemon green and violet rose. Pollution creates gorgeous sunsets. Another original piece with great touches of humour. Thanks Steve.

    Reply

    • My pleasure Nikita. Yes, pollution has its benefits. I remember Brazilian snow, formed from detergent bubbles at waterfalls in polluted rivers. It has some drawbacks as well. 😸

    • Thank you. As long as I don’t meet myself coming the other way, I’m happy. If I did, there would be a heated debate. My mind spins like a weathervane. 😸

    • Thanks, Paul, I appreciate you highlighting the threads here, in some ways a reflection of my own conflicts.

      Amazon is so very convenient: I suppose that’s how you become a global giga-company. Ethics isn’t in their algorithms unless they get caught out. Which principles do we bend and how far?

      And when it comes to humans (who behave like androids at times), principles are as hazy as the Annandale sun. 😸

  6. I’m grateful not to be in a place where I have to choose between staying in a strong air-conditioned environment, breathing in “anti-air”, and sweating profusely outside, where insects seek comfort in my flesh.

    Maybe Antimony will start cooking, cleaning and washing after being served a cup of tea? Probably just wishful thinking on the protagonist’s part.

    Reply

    • It’s a choice between the devil and the deep blue, Magarisa. I don’t think cooking, cleaning, and washing are part of Antimony’s plans. As well as providing refreshments, I image the protagonist will now be doing all the housework for two. 😸 I do like Antimony’s style, might write a little more eventually.

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