Lost web transmission · 2004

The Poem Current

Write one plain thought. Keep hold of one precious word. Then let the old internet carry it somewhere stranger.

Descend to the cable ↓
Recovered fragment 62

A link, a friend, a peculiar title.

In March 2004, Jon saved a poet recommended by Ji-Hwan. The poem sat behind an AltaVista Babel Fish link, and its machine-translated title came through as:

“To you one which runs” The original destination has slipped beneath the web. The lovely near-miss remains.
Undersea relay desk

Prepare a transmission

This is a poetry machine, not a translator. It imitates the way meaning can bend, echo, and become newly alive while travelling between people.

current: gentle

No network request is made. Your sentence stays in this browser, safely dry despite all appearances.

01 · Plain shore

I am running home before the rain arrives

meaning retained · 100%
02 · Literal ferry

Awaiting signal…

meaning retained ·
03 · Idiom reef

Awaiting signal…

meaning retained ·
04 · Human shore

Awaiting signal…

meaning retained ·

Why this exists

The mistake can carry something true.

Old machine translation was clumsy, but sometimes its clumsiness opened a side door into poetry. This little relay protects your anchor word while everything around it is allowed to wander.

Inspired by Jon’s note about a poet recommended by Ji-Hwan.

Field noteMeaning does not cross the water unchanged. Neither do we.