ChatGPoeTry: 李白 Li Bai (701-762) 月下獨酌 (Drinking Alone under the Moon)

 Tang dynasty rap.

Li Bai was a self-promoting hedonistic provocateur.

One of the rules of classic Chinese poetry is that you're supposed to write about wholesome, earnest things like homecoming, landscapes, fellowship, and patriotism.

He wrote about getting turnt all by himself.

花間一壺酒， 獨酌無相親； 舉杯邀明月， 對影成三人。 月既不解飲， 影徒隨我身； 暫伴月將影， 行樂須及春。 我歌月徘徊， 我舞影零亂； 醒時同交歡， 醉後各分散。 永結無情遊， 相期邈雲漢。

Huā jiān yī hú jiǔ, Dú zhuó wū xiāng qīn; Jǔ bēi yāo míng yuè, Duì yǐng chéng sān rén.  Yuè jì bù jiě yǐn, Yǐng tú suí wǒ shēn; Zàn bàn yuè jiāng yǐng, Xínglè xū jí chūn.  Wǒ gē yuè páihuái, Wǒ wǔ yǐng língluàn; Xǐng shí tóng jiāo huān, Zuì hòu gè fēnsàn.  Yǒng jié wúqíng yóu, Xiāng qī miǎo yúnhàn.

Among the flowers, a single jug of wine; I drink alone. No one close to me. I raise my cup, invite the bright moon; facing my shadow, together we make three. The moon doesn't know how to drink; and my shadow can only follow my body. But for a time I make moon and shadow my companions; taking one's pleasure must last until spring. I sing — the moon wavers back and forth. I dance — my shadow flickers and scatters. When I'm sober we take pleasure together. When I'm drunk, we each go our own ways. I make an oath to journey forever free of feelings, making an appointment with them to meet in the Milky Way afar.

(Image by Bing. Translation by Columbia University.)

I'm reminded of the jaded debauchery of 2010s music. It could easily flow into Kanye West's hangover humblebrag.

Sunglasses and Advil
Last night was mad real
Sun coming up, 5 AM
I wonder if they got cabs still.

--"No Church in the Wild" (2011)

Text to text is great. But AI text to image speaks on a more basic level.

And that's just fine if you want to communicate something basic, like getting sozzled solo after sunset.

So this time, my emphasis is re-telling the poem through image, not rhyming English.

But read on if you want ChatGPT's cringe-y rewrite in the Kanye (Yeezy?, Ye?) style.  

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Listen up, I got a story to te-ell
Sipping wine alone, among the flowers. The sme-ell.
Nobody near me, just me and my cup
Inviting the moon in, let's turn it up

Me, my shadow, and the moon makes three
The moon can't drink, my shadow just follows me
But right now they're my friends in this place
Having a ball, till springtime brings grace

I sing. The moon wavers to and fro
I dance. My shadow flickers and scatters, yo
When I'm sober, we enjoy the night
But when I get drunk, we part ways out of sight

I make a promise to be free of all the feels
My appointment with them, in the Milky Way, we seal
Forever journeying with no worries on my mind
Just me and my wine, and my shadow behind