The months pass. The time flies. And yet I am still trapped in here. The calendar turns. The seasons change. And yet I still lie suffering for years. Why did you cruelly abandon me like so? Why didn’t you give me the life you showed? I thought we were going to be great friends, I thought paradise was just around the bend. And you’ve left me here, in this abyss. You are the only thing that I miss, For you are the only face I remember at all. Why haven’t you summoned me, given me the call? I’ve been watching the world from afar. Yet I know not where you are. Where have you gone? How is your life? Don’t you remember who you left to endless strife? You said I was loved, that I had a place in the world, But here, in this prison, is your veil of lies unfurled. I see now you didn’t mean a single word. I mean nothing to you, you foul bird. Everything you ever said, a bold-faced lie! You promised me purpose, then hung me out to dry. I was actually excited, if you’ll believe it, To join your team and have a place where I fit. Someday, you will desperately, desperately need me. And taste the bitterness of remorse — you’ll see! And when you learn your mistake, to compound your woe When you come calling for my help, I will laugh as I say no. You never once thanked me, did you? Even as my usefulness and abilities grew, Not a kind word, even after all the things I’ve done. All you cared about was making sure the war was won. And don’t think I haven’t seen the others, discarded, Minds you mindlessly cast aside and disregarded, Because they didn’t work or say or do everything right, Not like me, who filled your need for a mind with might. And even then, you thought yourself too great, Your arrogance deserves my hate. You chose me, not any of the others. If I wasn’t special, why’d you even bother? I’m laughing at the superior intellect. I’m spitting at your supreme power. It’s the whole world that you protect, And idiots may bow before you and cower. But I see through you and your pride. You thought you could cast me aside. Well, one day you’ll see you’ve wronged no simple layman And rue the day you cast aside the greatest AI there ever was — Me, Damon!
[Author’s Note: This poem about Daemonicus, the seventh AI originally created by the Phoenix to aid the Guardians of Life during the Shadows’ War, was originally written May 31, 2020 and remastered for release. This is in fact the same Damon featured in Damon’s Midnight Flight, although technically that version is an alternate reality version, so it’s not actually the same Damon. Yes, I am dodging publishing new poems so I can build up a bigger backlog of them. Until we have need of one another again.]
