Alexa Poem by Madathil Rajendran Nair
Alexa
(Alexa is a voice-operated intelligent personal assistant.)
A pulsating presence, rotund
On our kitchen countertop
At the beck and call of my grandson
Just three years old
Who commands
From his dining chair
"Alexa, sing nursery rhymes"
And there she goes
With Old MacDonald
Wheels On The Bus
Hickory, Dickory, Dock
Then his dad demands
What is the product
Of a five digit number
Multiplied by another as long
Alexa reels out in a second
The correct response
Explains relativity
For another query
When mom intrudes
Asking for the latest news
The world explodes
Like a cloud-burst
Acts of terrorism
Hurricanes, political schisms
The all-knowing Alexa
In supreme control
Of a household
And all its info demands
Untiring, without fatigue
Be it music, politics
History, sciences or geography
Anthropological miscellany
How hunted the Australopithecus
Or how tall was homo erectus
And then at midnight
Me, the grand-dad
Tip-toes for a glass of water
And there she is all ears
Ever alert for another poser
With her unmistakable pulse
Like the neck throb of a lucid lizard
Awaiting yet another command
An empathy overpowers me
The communion that underscores
Intelligence across the universe
When I whisper her name
She lights up like a flying saucer
About to take off
Dousing my diabetic thirst
With a mouthful of cold water
I mutter in her ever-attentive ears
"Alexa stop, sleep in peace, dear"
She whimpers
And then she is gone
Into the oblivion of a much-needed slumber
What does it matter
If she is artificial, inert
When she sure is a presence
Like everything made to be
For intelligent eyes to see
Like the silent mounts, trees
And the sands that crowd
Our thorny paths
How beautiful would it be
To communicate with them all
Knowing one is never never alone at all! ?
Alexa, you have come to stay
Likes of you may have the last say
I recall about the days when we first purchased a computer, my son then in his high school, downloaded 'Bunzy Buddy', a soft ware, an animated 'Monkey ' who will wait for your command and sing songs or nursery rhymes.Then he will ask you 'Will you like to listen more songs? ', if you say 'NO', he will hang his face to show his sadness..I know, when he hangs his face , I used to feel bad and never wanted to say 'no'.
When we connect with this machine on an emotional level, when we feel loved or cared, when it seemed to understand you, it no more remains an inert lifeless machine.A wonderful poem on the topic when the bar between man and machine seems to blur.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/8/2024 7:54:57 AM # 1.0.0.1119
Alexa! the wonderful creation by google. Bharti had said it right, the bar between man and machine seems to blur, perhaps may disappear. People are so connected to machine and softwares are made in such a way that it attracts peoples to it. Loved the unique topic.