Path: ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!news.cs.indiana.edu!sdd.hp.com!cs.utexas.edu!rice!hawk.rice.edu!gamble
From: gamble@hawk.rice.edu (Ben Gamble)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: If e e cummings had a computer
Summary: Stuck shift key poetry time again!
Message-ID: <1991Jul13.065228.5387@rice.edu>
Date: 13 Jul 91 06:52:28 GMT
References: <1991Jul08.192158.27861@ddsw1.MCS.COM>
Sender: news@rice.edu (News)
Organization: Tennessee Ernie Port Authority
Lines: 108

In article <mumble> whos@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Ben Feen) writes:
|##!/
|@@-
|
|Hash hash bang slash
|At at dash
|
|Anybody have the LONG version of this poem?

Couple caveats here.  Firstly:  if the lines above are literally the
opening lines of the poem, I've not seen it.  Below are a couple
similar ones.  Secondly:  I could swear these appeared here only a few
weeks ago.  If so, all please excuse repetition; I have a tiny bit of
semi-new material at the bottom.

Here are two "top-row" poems as they appeared in rec.humor.funny a
year or two ago, with Subject: Stuck Shift Key Poetry.

<begin included material>

The following poem is excerpted with permission from Lee Leitner's
"Viewpoint" column which is featured in a bimonthly periodical for
Prime INFORMATION users called INFOCUS magazine. The original author's
were Fred Bremmer and Steve Kroese of Calvin College & Seminary of
Grand Rapids, MI.

FYI - a "wahka" is the decidedly "proper" (by popular vote) name for
the characters ">" and "<". This is in spite of INFOCUS readers of
Denver who still refer to them as "Norkies". The Michigan crowd
apparently has corrupted the spelling to "waka".

To wit, it is -
------------------------------------------------------------
 "...a poem we think is about the lowly wahka. Maybe. Well,
  perhaps---we're really not sure what the poem actually is
  about. Here it goes:"

    <>!*''#
    ^@`$$-
    !*'$_
    %*<>#4
    &)../
    |{~~SYSTEM HALTED

Transliterated:
    Waka waka bang splat tick tick hash,
    Caret at back-tick dollar dollar dash,
    Bang splat tick dollar under-score,
    Percent splat waka waka number four,
    Ampersand right-paren dot dot slash,
    Vertical-bar curly-bracket tilde tilde CRASH.
------------------------------------------------------------

A fragment of a drinking (or financing?) song called "Hatless Atlas":

^<@<.@*
}"_# |
-@$&/_%
!(	@|=>
;`+$?^?
,#"~|)^G

hat less at less point at star
backbrace double base pound space bar
dash at cash and slash base rate
wow open tab at bar is great
semi backquote plus cash huh DEL
comma pound double tilde bar close BEL

<end included material>

I have tweaked "Waka Waka" slightly to suit my taste.  If you are
offended by the concept of revising history in any way, hit 'j' now to
avoid seeing my version and reasoning.

Here's my best shot at a ^L.  Chances are, it won't work.


Just after the first poem appeared, I read a brief discussion by some
people I can't credit because I've forgotten everything but the
concept.  They noted that < and > are different characters, and
properly should have different names.  I incorporated this observation
and some names that I prefer into my personal version of the poem.
(waka.bpg?)

    <!*''#
    ^@`$$-
    !*'$_
    %*>#4
    &)../
    |={~~NFS server screech not responding still trying

Transliterated:
    Lesser-waka bang splat tick tick hash,
    Caret at back-tick dollar dollar dash,
    Bang splat tick dollar under-score,
    Percent splat greater-waka number four,
    Ampersand right-paren dot dot slash,
    Pipe equals left-brace tilde tilde CRASH.

Thanks for your indulgence.


--
Ben Gamble
gamble@owlnet.rice.edu 
       Oh ye who go about saying unto each other:  "Hello sailor":
       Dost thou know the magnitude of thy sin before the gods?