Poet: Purvi Shah
Poem selection: 
“Cultivation” (an excerpt from Purvi Shah's book, Terrain Tracks
We could listen to the way flowers
open like thunder, the bold unfurling
to begin, the spreading, a drum
scatter, the wet wash.

As much as your hands, thoughts
make me tremble. You banish
the light because you want
me to come to bed. Images
of fields, opening
like an accordion, sweet sonnets
of wheat, I am dreaming, not just
of you or the tight warmth
of your fingers when the hands turns
around body, but also of harvesting, bending
a back to retrieve the tall 
fruits of rain and soil. I reach

my favorite spatch
of skin, the nexus
of hip and waist, the curve
an ellipsis, like a song on its way
to higher notes. The window open

and beyond the city grime, the smell
of soil waiting
to be overturned, and seeded,

a body to be explored.

Robot: Kawasaki Unimate
While researching the Unimate, I found out that the one of the creators of the Unimate, Joe Engelberger, had actually been inspired by Isaac Asimov's Laws of Robotics and fiction books on robotics.  I've included the Asimov's Laws of Robotics below as well as my corresponding prompt.   

Laws of Robotics: 
o   A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm

o   A robot must obey orders given it by humans beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law

o   A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not

Question: Should the definition of robotics continue to be bounded by Asimov’s laws?  If not, what new Laws of Robotics do you propose?    

If you're further interested in the Unimate's story, here's an interesting article: 
http://www.botmag.com/index.php/the-rise-and-fall-of-unimation-inc-story-of-robotics-innovation-triumph-that-changed-the-world


Enjoy!
-Jonathan Li



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