Context: The printer has been acting up at work of late; she hasn’t been able to print her charts and graphs to show to her supervisor. So she eventually decides to fall-back to the iPad.
Sitting in Qazaqstan, I watch your SBU battle line:
You versus the printing machine that will not yield.
As your computer rejects the whole design,
A silent protest forms on the academic field.
You try your iPad, pivoting with reluctance and grace,
But that paper holds a malice somewhere deep inside,
The margins – they wander all across the space,
The charts misaligned, stretched too long and wide.
And then comes the crunch: the classic, final trap,
The paper tray holds fast, the rollers seize and bite.
I wish, somehow I could bridge this distance, this gap
And clear the jam, and make your printing feed run right.
But you, the scholar, don’t need a hero for the tech;
For you let the plastic villain have its day,
You walk right past the paper-tangled wreck,
And finally let the iPad lead the whole display.
You show Dr. Poe the charts right on the screen,
Unshaken by the chaos of the office room.
And here in Qazaqstan, I marvel at the scene;
The way your brilliant and steady colours bloom.
The printer failed, but you kept perfect stride,
And miles away, I watched you with quiet pride.
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