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An Ode to My Printer
Beep
Whirr
STOP
A louder beep
An orange light
A paper jam
What to do
but to try
to try and fix
what cannot print
Check the chest
Open the cover
to discover
another lever
Push the lever
colored green
and pull with all
of your puny might
To try and fix
what cannot print
Pull the tabs
Check each one
only to find,
when all is done
that there are no jams
under any one
Close the chest
Pull down the lever
Shut the cover
to try and fix
what cannot print
Move to the side
Behind the panel
And pull open that cover
to go uncover
the paper jam
Once again,
there are no jams
of paper stuck
in the printer's body
What to do,
but to call
the technician
to try and fix
what cannot print
Until the next time
the next orange light,
flashing mockingly
and the next paper jam
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This poem initially started off quite unconventionally. I first wrote this poem not even intending it to even become a poem. It started as a rant when the school's Common printer malfunctions hit peak-printing season (finals week). It then somehow simultaneously morphed into a set of instructions for my school's librarian who had no idea how to fix any printer problems and instead often resorted to asking the printer (the printer!) what was wrong. I hope these notes of frustration and resignation come across well in this poem. And finally, I hope none of you have ever experienced the pure, undiluted, hair-pulling resentment that I've felt towards an inanimate object.