This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: June 22, 2008
(Haiku poetry has strict construction rules: Each poem has only 17 syllables; 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second line, 5 in the third line. They are used to communicate a timeless message, often achieving a wistful, yearning and powerful insight through extreme brevity.)
Your file was so big.
It might be very useful.
But now it is gone.
The Web site you seek
Cannot be located, but
Countless more exist.
Chaos reigns within.
Reflect, repent, and reboot.
Order shall return.
Program aborting:
Close all that you have worked on.
You ask far too much.
Yesterday it worked.
Today it is not working.
Windows is like that.
The Tao that is seen
Is not the true Tao until
You bring fresh toner.
Windows NT crashed.
I am the Blue Screen of Death.
No one hears your screams.
A crash reduces
Your expensive computer
To a simple stone.
First snow, then silence.
This thousand-dollar screen dies
So beautifully.
Serious error.
All shortcuts have disappeared.
Screen. Mind. Both are blank....
Photographer Tom Nagel is a freelancer.