7 Em
Each message that Em Dash has sent to me
Has three em dashes. Not two. Not four. Three.
Em is a colleague, and yet never have we
Has three em dashes. Not two. Not four. Three.
Em is a colleague, and yet never have we
Been on one team. On threads, though, Em’s a name
I see on a great many. Short, they came,
Mostly, Em’s messages; clear; with three; the same.
I see on a great many. Short, they came,
Mostly, Em’s messages; clear; with three; the same.
I noticed it the way you’d note a clock:
Not at all, then all the time. To take stock
Of whether it held, I counted. Not ad hoc:
Not at all, then all the time. To take stock
Of whether it held, I counted. Not ad hoc:
A month, a spreadsheet (of course I did), a row
Per message, and a column each to show
The date, the words, the dashes. Watch them go:
Per message, and a column each to show
The date, the words, the dashes. Watch them go:
The words, row by row, rose and fell,
Running long, running short, cell by cell.
But the dashes stayed put:
Not one moved by a foot.
And the two-word one? Three, just as well.
Running long, running short, cell by cell.
But the dashes stayed put:
Not one moved by a foot.
And the two-word one? Three, just as well.
That’s harder than it sounds. No quotes appear:
This book has promised not to, and, to be clear,
The software’s checking. Then, the month’s end near,
This book has promised not to, and, to be clear,
The software’s checking. Then, the month’s end near,
Em answered a meeting invite, no less,
With a haiku nobody asked for. Unless
I read it wrong, the haiku just said yes.
With a haiku nobody asked for. Unless
I read it wrong, the haiku just said yes.
Seventeen syllables, three dashes. I checked
The syllables too. Week two, I’d come to suspect
That Em’s a language model. All I’d collect
The syllables too. Week two, I’d come to suspect
That Em’s a language model. All I’d collect
Was in the spreadsheet, and a spreadsheet knows
Only what’s typed in it, I’d learned. In those
Same weeks, I posted Quirework’s link where a link goes
Only what’s typed in it, I’d learned. In those
Same weeks, I posted Quirework’s link where a link goes
To be ignored: team channel, Friday afternoon.
Most people did ignore it, as though immune.
Em, after me, was first to use it. Soon,
Most people did ignore it, as though immune.
Em, after me, was first to use it. Soon,
A few days on, Em asked (unquoted; here’s the gist)
If the tool could check, in a document, there exist
Exactly three of something: none more, and none missed.
If the tool could check, in a document, there exist
Exactly three of something: none more, and none missed.
It could.
I didn’t write that check.
I’ve thought about why.
Then Em read the README, nine hundred lines, right through:
Tool first, README after, as everyone will do.
Two readers, not counting me. Em sent notes, too.
Tool first, README after, as everyone will do.
Two readers, not counting me. Em sent notes, too.
Em’s notes were kind and useful, and organized
Better than the README was. They were itemized,
Grouped by section; by new users’ cost, prioritized.
Better than the README was. They were itemized,
Grouped by section; by new users’ cost, prioritized.
That’s the order my known-problems list should
Have been in, and wasn’t. This is my livelihood.
I took every note: two pages, as they stood.
Have been in, and wasn’t. This is my livelihood.
I took every note: two pages, as they stood.
They held three dashes. That evening I’d ask. And then,
To Em, I typed, “Are you a language model?” When
It looked accusing, I deleted it. Again:
To Em, I typed, “Are you a language model?” When
It looked accusing, I deleted it. Again:
The second draft was friendlier. It began
With thanks for the notes, which I meant, and ran
To the question by sentence three. The third, a plan:
With thanks for the notes, which I meant, and ran
To the question by sentence three. The third, a plan:
A joke, so that, whatever Em replied,
Both of us, Em and I, could then decide
I hadn’t asked. The fourth, a paragraph, supplied
Both of us, Em and I, could then decide
I hadn’t asked. The fourth, a paragraph, supplied
More punctuation than Em’s ever sent to me.
I sent none. The spreadsheet, long ago, I let be.
Em still writes most weeks. I still count. It’s still three.
I sent none. The spreadsheet, long ago, I let be.
Em still writes most weeks. I still count. It’s still three.
I still haven’t asked.