Crowded rooms of booksWhere Are The Readers?

After a tragic event or a sad farewell,
We step up to the moment and pay close attention.
The words that are said, the emotions that are shared,
We want to know all there is to know.
So, we read. Watch. Pay very close attention.

As time passes, readers look for new pastures.
This is common on many fronts,
Tired of hearing the same ol’ stories and news,
Desire says give me something different
So, Readers go searching.

How do you know this? I’m the same.
Drop me into a genre, an author, or a style
I’ll soak it up, bury myself in the prose
Comes the time, too much, well, that’s too much.
Readers keep looking and searching.

There’s a term floating in the ether. Influencer.
Or so they are called. You find them most often in videos.
Short Reels of convoluted thoughts and ideas.
Watch, but remember to turn the volume Up.
That’s this reader’s problem. I listen less and read more.

Eventually, I might remember an author.
The Past comes tromping through. Remember?
Michener, L’Amour, Dixon, Thom, Ludlum, McLean
Oh, My. I find this thought, “Let’s read them again.”
Readers get lost in the flavor they favor.

To all those writers and authors I’ve not picked up in a while,
My sincere apologies for finding other pages to ruffle.
You were good in your time and may still be again,
My tastes, needs, desires, and research keep updating
It tells this reader to keep moving on.

Hollywood, Barnum, and probably many others
Learn to give an audience what they want
They sell a good story, and Lookers line up to pay
Their socks, they expect to get blown away.
But Readers take their time and read their lives away.

Showing requires your full attention, body, soul, and mind
But a reader learned many moons ago,
And they give their all to their imaginations of story
Not painted, posed, or green-screened,
Readers read and imagine the story all by themselves.

So, I trust readers are getting their fill.
Of stories, news, feel-good, or tragedy from everywhere
Anywhere good words are being used, clear thinking is shared,
Readers will find their needs met from the past
The present, or reading about the future.

Readers. Unite! Share what gets you charged up!
Give me an author, a story, or a genre that speaks
And gives me hope for the written word
What I read this morning, or so they say, is being presented
By AI (Artificial Intelligence), Oh, My.

A robot may be writing what you read.
Google it now! “AI Writing” You’ll find it everywhere.
Even the tools I use to edit are suggestions from
Artificial Intelligence!
From this writer to you, gentle person, I ask:

Readers? Where Are You?
Writers, authors, published or not, you must remember this:
Readers get lost in the flavor they favor.
Write it well, and put it out there, for you know,
Readers do come back.

Where Have All The Readers Gone? Artificial intelligence is changing the way you read. How? AI edits, suggests, cleans up, and presents a "clearer" way to say what you want to be said. Computers are taking over the world! Readers! Unite! Click To Tweet

By Michael Gurley

Making Sense of Life, One Thought at a Time!