Marion Cohen

High and Mighty Tech

I don’t like the way he talks to Siri.
He won’t be fooled by her sweet, slightly vulnerable voice
as though English were her second language.
He wouldn’t be fooled by robots, either.
Even if they were given soft skin with veins.
He’d be perfectly comfortable having one perpetually standing all servile in the corner of
our living room.
He wouldn’t feel guilty or Marxian about purchasing one and paying it no wages.

Back to Siri, he’s all business.
Minimal monotone wording
with perhaps an inflection on the last couple of words
the kind of inflection that indicates impatience and power.
He’s a no-nonsense Siri-overseer.

Whereas me, I’m not no-nonsense.
I’m plenty of nonsense.
Nonsense like please and thank you.
Even Ooo thanks, Siri, good job!
Siri and might even indulge in a bit of girl-talk.
Well, we have something in common:
We’re both girls.

— from Closer to Dying (WordTech Editions)

Marion Deutsche Cohen is the author of 26 collections of poetry or memoir; her latest poetry collection is^“ “New Heights in Non-Structure” (dancing girl press, about home-schooling and other ideas about engaging with children). She is also the author of two controversial memoirs about spousal chronic illness, a trilogy diary of late-pregnancy loss, and of “Crossing the Equal Sign” (Plain View Press, about the experience of mathematics). She teaches math and writing at Arcadia University in Glenside PA (USA), where she has developed the course, Mathematics in Literature. A poetry chapbook, “Truth and Beauty”, about the interaction in that course among students and teacher, was released in 2016 from WordTech Editions. She is currently working on a poetry collection about her experience with extreme back pain. Other interests are classical piano, singing, Scrabble, thrift-shopping, four grown children, and five grands.

Her website is marioncohen.net .

30 for 30 is sponsored by Potomac Review