The Panacea

My monitor screen is as blank as a sheet.
It doesn't respond to Control-Alt-Delete.
But I'll rescue myself from the jaws of defeat:
I'll power it off, and I'll power it on.

My laptop exhibits sardonicus risus.
Each program and window eternally freezes.
So, after invoking the Devil and Jesus,
I power it off, and I power it on.

My wireless connection is running like mud,
Like some senile bovine who's chewing her cud,
Before I conclude that my router's a dud
I power it off, and I power it on.

My daughter's been hacking for twenty years. She
Once coded a multi-core kernel in C!
You can guess the advice she imparted to me:
"Just power it off, Dad, and power it on."

Some critical updates have finished installing.
I'm deluged with warnings of errors appalling.
I don't bother my daughter with email or calling.
I power it off, and I power it on.

There was one exception. Once, when I awoke,
I found that my bedroom was filling with smoke,
Spewing from my computer. That wasn't a joke.
I unplugged the damn thing and I won't turn it on.

Note

This is part of the collection Verses for the Information Age by Ernest Davis