After a particularly frustrating marathon debugging session on Sunday, I was inspired to write a poem.
Why won’t it work?
I stare at the screen
of the hateful machineI check all the details
in the documentation
While the error prevails
with my growing frustrationI stare at the screen
of the hateful machine
Why won’t it work?I read through the code
Line after line
Will it explode?
It all looks fineWhy won’t it work?
Can this not be solved by logic
Rather than a gin and tonic?I go for a walk
to clear my head
I wonder which detail
I could have misreadWhy won’t it work?
I don’t believe it
I try it once more
The testing reveals
That it’s broken for sureI stare at the screen
of the hateful machine
Why won’t it work?After hours and hours
using all of my powers
I can prove that nothing is wrong
Why won’t it work?My eyes are red
It’s time for bed
I take a break
And eat some breadI stare at the screen
of the hateful machine
Why won’t it work?My ideas exhausted
I ask for assistance
This has to be better
than endless persistenceI explain the problem
from the beginning
My head is spinning
He listensWords pass my mouth
at such a pace
Desperately trying
not to lose faceAs I realise that something
just isn’t quite right
I dig a bit deeper
Because this just mightBe the answer, the light
The end of the fight
With wishful delight
I forsee
the end of the nightI fix and I test
and, embarrassed, I jest
that a schoolboy would make
this sort of mistakeBut it works now
<yawn>
I’m going to bed
In the morning once more
I’ll be using my headI’ll write the next feature
And pray the next bug,
That most nasty creature,
Won’t be so smugI dream:
“Why won’t it work?”