Tributes have been pouring in for Steve Jobs. Most written by better people than us. The best we can manage is this poem, inspired by WH Auden.It is not the greatest, but it is sincere, and our way of saying “Rest in peace, Steve. You will never be forgotten.”
Stop all the iPods, switch off the iPhones,
Turn off the Macs, lay iPads on their faces prone,
Silence the fan boys, shut out the Droid knaves,
Be silent! A legend goes to his grave.
On social networks and websites let it be said,
Through tweet, through status update, through mail: He Is Dead,
Make black turtlenecks and faded jeans the uniform of the day,
Who cares for fashion? HE dressed this way.
He was our North, our South, our East, our West
He gave us products that worked, and made us forget about specs
He defied convention and cancer, and He seemed so strong,
That we felt He would defy death – we now know we were wrong.
The keynotes are meaningless now, let’s cancel every one
For no product presentation will be quite as much fun.
So clear off the stage, and down the curtains bring,
For He will no longer be there to say “And one more thing.”
(Inspired by WH Auden’s memorable “Stop all the clocks, Cut off the telephone.” The poem first appeared on my blog at http://nimishdubey.blogspot.com/2011/10/rip-steve-jobs-stop-all-ipods-switch.html)
(Steve Jobs picture courtesy: www.Apple.com)
