Technophobia
The computer is a monster
An undefeatable Sphinx
Or a Cyclops
Looking out at me from its large lonesome eye
Sharp-edged and threatening
I hear it down the hall
I'm in bed
But it's humming
I know that it wants me
I sit down in the chair
I might need to be strapped in
Touch the mouse like it's a hot coal
What does it mean to "double-click"?
I'm caught in the Net
How did that happen?
Got to be extra careful
Move slowly, the pages freeze
Leave me hanging for information
And I hate when the cursor is the only thing that moves
The computer cruelly taunts me
It knows I want to move
It makes me think I can
But I can't
Great, now I've got to reboot
Pull the powerstrip out of the wall
Start fresh
The screen is black
Then lights up
Little white characters
Letters, numbers
Nonsense words
Defragmenting
Diskette
Hit Shift to run Setup
It's talking to me, communicating
I think so
But I can't understand it
The icons reappear onscreen
The smiley-face background I thought I'd never see again
Beams out at me courageously
I take a deep breath
I gently pet the mouse
Kindness kills, after all
Slay the beast
Solve the riddle
Thwart this thing at its own sick game
It gets too much pleasure from my frustration
My bloodied fists beating against the desk
I squint in a threat
Squaring off against the screen
I move the arrow tentatively over the globe
Finger hovers over the button
I'm ready to try again