Not For Long

No more the thrilling stories of old  

Nor entertaining, happy news  

Nor the lively debates on screen  

Nor jibes of so many hues  

No, only robots now upon TV  

All eyes upon AI  

Watch out, people! You’re being brainwashed!  It’s a huge fraud, say I. (https://colorreflections.com/)   

You said we aren’t worth our pay  

That all we spout is trash  

And that wasn’t just depressing for us  Oh no! It was the Crash!  

And so, to cut a long story short  

Let’s not call it a joke  

To put it in a nutshell, ladies and gentlemen  We’re all infernally broke!  

Turned-out pockets – the void within  

Wallets light as a feather  

Our only roof the summer sky  

Our only bed the heather.  

Our clothes are nigh non-existent  

Meals a pleasant surprise  

And as for job security 

The question doesn’t arise!  

For, you see, we have no job  

We are, in a word, unemployed  

An occasional grumble from our tummies’ depths  Reminds us of their void.  

A robot may walk and run and play  

It may hear or speak or see  

But always remember – human’s a thing  A robot can never be.  

You complained our views are coloured  That money’s always behind ’em  

But, you see, if robots had views  

You’d be hard put to find ’em.  

We’re far better than them, you know  Smarter and louder and keener  

And you’ll realise that grass  

On the other side’s always greener.  

A dull drone is all they spout  

Right from morning to evening  

With no emotion or expression:  

Together silent and deafening.  

You can’t put up with them, you see  

They just don’t have the knack  

One day you’ll have enough of them 

And then you’ll call us back!  

The good, old-fashioned anchors return  

To their pre-eminent position  

And it’s lucky for you that to forgive  

Is in their disposition.  

The robots may be now in fashion  

They seem the current trend-setter  

Thanks to their unbiased views – though  

You’d like the biased ones better.  

So bid the robots adieu, people!  

Wish ’em luck and say “So long!”  

Put in your order for a farewell bouquet  

Because we shan’t be long.