New Year Resolutions

Prolog: 

Any pompous aspiration, either

from the left-over of a tradition or

a new, night-grown, cheap fashion,

is a disguised selfishness fattened

and nurtured by artificial food.

News: 

The Japanese just invented the latest

robot that can be a pleasant company,

opening doors, fetching newspapers,

dialing 911, and even speaking your language

in case you are lonely at home.

Robot with an almost-human-intelligence!

Or, maybe, visa versa? It can answer all

your wishes and dry greetings better than

the next-door neighbor. It’s programmed

to love you back! And the best feature is

“No strings attached!”

The ideal human without a soul!

To wish someone the possession

of a robot slave might be the best

New Year resolution, I imagine.

A wise investment that guarantees

to balance your emotion and depression.

You can ignore it, mock it, insult it, slap it,

kick it, kiss it, cheat it, lie to it and

if one day you are sick of it, you can

smash it or sell it to an antique shop.

Who knows what else you can do with it.

So, this is another New Year. Let’s

send each other empty loving words,

tongue in cheek, pretending there is no

suffering in tortured countries, no disaster

in corrupted lands, no killing of the soul

under our very noses. Let’s repeat again:

Today is a new beginning! [Of what?]

A new beginning of Hi-Intel Robots?

The beginning of what’s already dead?

The fact:

Nothing will change!

Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Say it, and you won’t get slapped.

Muse: 

But, what if a robot could say

really nice words and smile?

What if the robot had a really

sexy voice and watery sad eyes?

What if it had a temperature like yours?

What if we could push our science

and Hi-Tech a little further?

Monologue:

Well, forget the speaking robot.

Tomorrow is just another day.

I will face it like any other day.

I’ll get up early and feed the birds.

I’ll eat a hearty breakfast before I head out

and try to smile more and laugh

with you reminding each other

we are one more year wiser.

+

Z.Z. 2006