Oh how I love you, my IBM,
My beloved 386 DX.
Your checksums are perfect, you beckon to me,
In binary, octal, decimal and hex.

With you, I can C so much.
You're always there, always READY for me.
With you, I can do anything!
You make it as BASIC as BASIC can be.

What shall we do, oh my sweet CPU?
Shall we surf upon the Internet?
Or browse CD-ROMs through the Windows?
Or play games together, like when we first met?

Oh let me run programs on your interface,
Let me not fail, and cease to create.
Let's Backup a little, and then check the time,
And later we'll go HOME - I'll set the Date.

Oh sure we have problems, but then, who doesn't?
How can I justify hitting your keys?
Sometimes you crash, and I wonder why
I've lost all my data, just as much as you please.

But then your memory comes back on-line,
And, as if nothing happened you're fine!
And then, as so often I must do,
I must shut you down again, to RETURN soon.

But don't worry, my digital dream.
I shall be back, to turn you on again.
I'll come back to play with your Mouse,
And you'll be there, as always you've BIN.

Someday you'll change, and all for the better.
You'll sit in my lap, and work even faster.
Then you'll be PROMPT, and more resolute
As I plot Bitmaps on your fine raster.

Let our love never END, for if ever it did,
I'd have to meet people - Heaven forbid!
I prefer Bits, and corn on the COBOL.
I love my computer, now and for all.


- Matt Kellner, 1995
(revised July 1999)