Demandons à Siri
Ce qui se passe en Syrie
Demandons à Pierre
S’il jèterait la première pierre
Saydnaya Palmyre et bien d’autres
Ne sont pas des hôtels de luxe
Mais des lieux où l’on sévit
Ou parfois ces vies tant aimées se perdent
Puis demander à Siri
De nous dire le temps qu’il fait
Passer de l’accablant au trivial
Passer d’un monde à l’autre
Les prisons ne sont pas nécessairement pourvues de barreau…‼️
ÉDITIONS MOMENTOM
This poem by Alain juxtaposes opposing realities, oscillating between the gravity of human tragedies and the banality of our connected daily lives. The title, “Let’s Ask Siri”, introduces a critical perspective on modern society and its dependence on technology, symbolized by the virtual assistant. Addressing Siri, an emotionless entity, creates an irony in contrast to the serious subject: the atrocities of Syrian prisons.
The first two lines establish an immediate contrast between the dramatic news from Syria and the apparent lightness of a question posed to Siri. The mention of Pierre, with the biblical evocation of “casting the first stone,” invites a moral reflection on judgment and inaction in the face of suffering.
The prisons of Saydnaya and Palmyra symbolize places of torture and death, described here not by their explicit atrocities but through a euphemistic phrase: “not luxury hotels.” This contrast heightens the horror of these places while denouncing indifference or minimization of the facts. The expression “these dearly loved lives are lost” humanizes the victims, emphasizing the individual tragedy behind the statistics.
The repetition of “let’s ask Siri” marks a sharp transition to trivial daily matters. This shift highlights the human mind’s, or society’s, ability to oscillate between incompatible worlds: the overwhelming (human tragedies) and the trivial (the weather). This reveals an implicit critique of our era, where information is consumed without depth or empathy.
The final line, “prisons are not necessarily equipped with bars,” broadens the scope of the poem. It evokes symbolic prisons: ignorance, indifference, or technology that confines the mind. Alain’s incisive text blends moral reflection, political denunciation, and societal critique with great intensity.‼️