As one might guess it came in a black shiny case

Everything appeared normal and in its proper place

I plugged it in and I could tell from its first electrifying groan

That this computer was trouble and a purchase I would bemoan

Up popped the Windows Welcome just as you would expect

The screen warm and inviting to gain ones’ utter respect

I initiated IE and went straight to the net

I was exuberant. I was surfing. This was a total no sweat.

Then without warning the electrifying groan came wafting through 

The screen flashed many colors and then turned a dark blue

A single simple message appeared that gave me a real fright

“Unrecoverable error” was the message no further explanation in sight

Having been given no clue to the problem I did a reboot

And the bad-tempered computer wouldn’t compute

It hummed and it hawed and finally relit up the screen

“Reload Windows” the screen flashed and then turned olive green

I yanked the cord from its plug to silence the cantankerous beast

Plugged it back in and waited, fearing the worst to say the least

To my utter surprise it booted right up, only to crash in the next moment

Proclaiming “Page Fault” as it shut down so to continue its torment

I let it sleep overnight and expecting nothing but strife 

I pushed the start button and held my breath as it sputtered to life

The disk whirled and the fans roared, lights flashing all around

It sang its final swan song and then made not a sound

The services were beautiful, attended by all my close friends

The eulogy was long, a litany of geeky odds and ends

No casket was required, just a match to initiate the light

A long fuse, a steady hand and three sticks of dynamite

©Copyright Charlie Gragg Jan 5, 2011.