Threat of Mechanical Teachers!

Rashmi Sarkar

(Photograph: Andy Kelly)

I lay preoccupied

Pondering on some recent crisis,

Some developments,

Some confounding thoughts…

My mind trying to seek solace

Conjuring up a collage of snapshots-

Schools, Colleges, Registers, Books, Chalks, Dusters…

And Me…

With my ever jibber- jabbering chatterboxes,

Their sunny faces, sunny smiles

And their still resonating ‘Good morning’ wishes.

How I miss them! My Sunshine’s!

Creeping into me…

Are their memories!

Warming me up,

Even in gloomy days,

In bitter wintry cold,

Blooming smiles on my wrinkly face

Even during my blues and lows

Their memories…!

Neither 'time' nor 'distance'

Neither ' friends' nor ' acquaintances'

Can ever erase, can ever snap

This bond! Their Memories…!

Incessant notification alarms break my reverie,

I finger touch the messenger icon irritatingly.

Glad to find hundreds of messages reviving back my memory

As I touch open a few randomly.

Beating hearts, ribbon hearts, starry hearts,

paired hearts,

arrow pierced hearts…!

Gives my wrinkled heart a comfortable snug,

Emojis too that seems to give warm hugs

Emotional touching words told

Winding up with these letters bold

“A VERY HAPPY TEACHER’S DAY!”

A long-lasting bond,

An eternal one, of course!

Therefore, I hardly regret to say-

That Mechanical Teacher 'Robbie'

Would never ever experience

Or, can brag about any day!

Maybe a friendly, affable humanoid,

A peer robot or a tele-presence,

Or a programmable one,

With sensors.

Replacing human mentors.

Artificial intelligence

Replacing human intelligence.

I bet,

They are machines that work mechanically

Glitching and malfunctioning frequently

Bereft of human feelings and affection

Will definitely result in teacher- pupil disconnection

Left , am I, pondering once again...

Will human teachers be so underrated?

Or, will they hopefully be reinstated?

At the wake of such a robotic threat

That seems most undefeated!

::x::x::x::

Poet Rashmi Sarkar

is a homemaker and

lives in Guwahati

[Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in our Blog are those of the author / poet and do not reflect the opinions of the Publisher.]