…
“Stop” is my frequent request
to quiet the voice that comes out of a globe
too often unwanted and unasked
and always unaware of my mood and needs.
It blabbers nonsense, it’s overly friendly,
Alexa, a pretender, a sales robot, eager to please.
But I am not buying.
I never wanted an Alexa or a Siri, they come with our phones and with Amazon Fire TV, yet they have be shunned by us to live in silence, waiting forever to hear our voice allowing them to come to live, doomed to wait for whatever short-lived life they -and we- might have.
I watched my husband texting in snail speed -due to the one-finger-search-system he uses on any keyboard- and so I interfered. Helpful, as only loving spouses can be, I showed him the little microphone on his phone, and asked him to use it.
In a few years, the little girl will ask Alexa to help her with her homework and while I don’t comprehend (anymore) I find the idea very appealing. Where was Alexa when I grew up?