I am beginning to prefer succinct conversations
with robots currently winning over humans
but invariably the robots get confused
after guessing incorrectly at my words
then switch the line to what I assume is another human
although I've been fooled more than once
which never amuses the robots.
Not having a sense of humor will be
their inevitable downfall I'm sorry to say
for our eventually sentient comrades
although the same could be observed
about some doctors, lawyers and
your average person in a coffee shop.
For years, my mail order prescription service
used a cute female robot whose voice politely
informed me that my recent household order
had been received, would be promptly filled
and shipped to my location, adding sweetly,
There's nothing further you need to do.
(slight pause) Goodbye.(emphasis on good)
I now have a different mail order pharmacy
and despite promises of the same great service,
she is gone except in my memory where even though
I knew what was going to be said, I listened
to the entire message just to feel uplifted and
to hear a robot's encouraging words, a robot's goodbye.
reQuest 2018