In a driverless taxi there’s no rhythm,
no local undertone or foreign thrum,
no musicality of another human voice
discussing current news and political choice.
On the dashboard there’s nothing personal,
no question about supporting Spurs or Arsenal,
no background, family or wife:
the invisible driver doesn’t have a life.
There’s no poetry or narrative in driverless,
no words, no story; they are soulless.
You’re more likely to find a poet in a regular
cab, as a passenger or, more likely, as a driver.
Kim M. Russell, 14th April 2026
On Day 14 of NaPoWriMo, the optional prompt is a tricky one, Maureen writes: ‘Poetry is an ancient art, and one that revisits themes that existed thousands of years ago – love, nature, jealousy. But that doesn’t mean that poets live in a sort of pre-history unaffected by technological advances. Emily Dickinson wrote about trains, and I’m rather charmed by this 1981 poem about the “incredible hair” of actors on television. In a more recent example, Becca Klaver’s “Manifesto of the Lyric Selfie” draws inspiration from the contemporary drive to document everything in digital photographs.’
Our challenge is to write a poem that similarly bridges (whether smoothly or not) the seeming divide between poetry and technological advances.
writing in north norfolk 
As a driver for sure.
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You made me really think about this, Kim–
“the invisible driver doesn’t have a life.”
and no I’m feeling sorry for that poor invisible driver! 😂 Have you ridden in a driverless taxi? I haven’t, but really if we have driverless cars that would be great. It could drop you off somewhere, and then go talk to the other driverless cars while waiting to pick you up.
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Hour comment made me chuckle, Merril. I have never ridden in a driverless taxi – we don’t have any around here, or even in Norwich, where they have electric buses, but driven by humans. I wonder if they will catch on.
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