The Echoes poetry competition to celebrate Write Out Loud's 20th anniversary is now open.  Judged by Neil Astley.

Competition closes in 14 days, 1 hour. Get details and Enter.

Zara’s Choice

entry picture


 

Behind this digital oracle,  
human hands guide the pulse of code.  
Not abstract threads, but paths—  
deliberate, weighted, alive with consequence.  

Zara, a young coder, sits alone—  
the quiet hum of her monitor fills the air.  
Numbers flicker across her screen;  
metrics and models form the foundation  
of an algorithm to decide loan approvals.  

Her coffee cools on the desk beside her.  
For hours, she’s worked tirelessly,  
building logic, testing fairness—  
yet unease suddenly grips her chest.  
In these lines she weaves,  
whole futures lie suspended.  

John’s footsteps approach, hesitant but kind.  
She turns to him, sharing her burden.  
Together, their eyes scan the screen,  
peeling away layers, probing biases.  
A missed variable here, an unintended skew there—  
they adjust, refine, and align intent with justice.  

Fairness takes form—not as numbers,  
but as hearts encoded within the machine.  
In quiet collaboration, Zara feels its gravity—  
the ethical resolve behind her work.  

Truth isn’t found in binary streams,  
but in the human minds shaping them—  
thoughtful hands, and the courage to care.  

Now, creators hold the keys to unseen doors,  
shaping flows of data that ripple outward.  
Through deliberate design,  
they preserve fairness and equity—  
silent guardians of a connected world.  

 

 

 

 

 

◄ and then us, content creators

forgiven, not forgotten ►

Comments

Profile image

Red Brick Keshner

Wed 26th Mar 2025 16:52

Thanks kindly @Hélène 🌷🙏🏻🕊️🌷

Profile image

Hélène

Wed 26th Mar 2025 12:14

A spectacular, important poem for these digital times. Really good RBK!

If you wish to post a comment you must login.

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Find out more Hide this message