Tech Collapse

Tech Collapse

A hard drive, a circuit, something

is dying in my computer

I'm beginning to weep

though it's more about

what phone-fix hell

I'm gonna go through

rather than

an actual fixer

who would show up at my door

taking the system in hand

smashing all conventions

actually fixing something

rather than taking my time

to talk with Malaysia

or the Philippines

nice people

but not an American fixer

with tools

and replacement parts

a box full of replacement parts

like the old guys who

put tubes in black and white

televisions in the 50s

their box of mysteries

at the ready

priests of the tube

as we knelt in awe

waiting for the next opportunity

to let our eyes get too close

to the glow our parents

didn't want us near

fearful of blindness

or too much communist control

kneeling with open mouths

waiting for the electric wafer

to confess our sins

to Captain Kangaroo

Say five Kukla, Fran, and Ollies

wait for “What Time is IT!”

and scream at the screen

knowing Howdy Doody

will personally hear the prayer

as we guzzle sweetened corn flakes

with milk and spoonfuls of sugar

each spoonful roaring like Tony

Barry G. Wick