A Summer Sessions Poem

by Cai Quirk
Ithaca Meeting
and ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence Chatbot

Cai Quirk gave ChatGPT this prompt: "please write a short poem about 'New York Yearly Meeting' of Quakers, who has its 'Summer Sessions' this week in a new place called 'Oakwood.' We used to meet at Silver Bay which was beautiful and beloved by many, but Oakwood has been wonderful too and we are building more community by being closer together and the only ones on campus." ChatGPT generated several poems and Cai merged and tweaked them to arrive at the following:

In the gentle heartland, far from city's bustling bells,

Quakers gather, where the spirit in silence dwells.

Yearly Meeting in session, beneath the sun's warm streak,

United in peaceful worship, it's wisdom we seek.

Silver Bay was once home, its beauty beyond measure,

A place of quiet reflection, of moments to treasure.

Yet, as waves meet the shore, change comes in tide,

Now, Oakwood beckons, arms open wide.

Beneath Oakwood's canopy, where ancient trees stand tall,

We gather close, answering the spirit's call.

Closer still we grow, as stories unfold,

Binding us as one, a spectacle to behold.

Silver Bay's echoes linger, in memory's tender hold,

Its beauty ever cherished, its stories never old.

Yet, Oakwood's song now sings, in our hearts anew,

Harmonizing the rhythm of the love we knew.

Just us on campus, in unity we thrive,

Nourishing our bonds, keeping the Quaker drive.

From Silver Bay's wide expanse, to Oakwood's warm invite,

Our communal flame in the summer's night.

New York Yearly Meeting, a journey of the soul,

From Silver Bay to Oakwood, love the compass, peace the goal.

In the heart of summer, under the same vast sky,

The spirit of the Quakers, forever strong and high.