I wrote this poem after seeing a commercial that had a forklift-robot spinning through an empty warehouse, carrying its payload very high, and I thought, doesn’t it ever get weary? Here’s the simple, dystopian poem that resulted.
By the way, my son participated in robotics in high school, so don’t be fooled. I’m not a complete Luddite. Thanks for coming by to read!
The quiet robot
Holds its tonnage
High above its head
And never tires
And never talks
And never goes to bed.
The quiet robot
Roams the quiet
Warehouse, all alone.
And has no arms
And has no legs
And has no happy home.
The quiet robot
Does its job
And never once complains.
Goes to and fro
And never knows
And never feels our pain.
The quiet robot,
Lonely now,
Will soon be millions strong.
And we, whose jobs
He took, will wonder
Where did we go wrong?
Copyright 2022 Andrea LeDew
For a taste of our experience with robotics, see Robotics for Kids Taught by TedX Speaker and Robotics Revisited.
The World Police
Memorable poem! Now I know why businesses prefer robots…
When I saw that commercial with the forklift robot working all alone, it really gave the creepiest feeling. As if we human are, after all, dispensable. Im sure that was not the impression the advertisers intended to make!.