System check — Sestina

System check illustration

At morning's bell I tap the keys to check
The dashboard yawns and mutters out its status
A little lamp winks back, a steady pulse
I listen for the fan's small gossiping signal
It boasts, "All's well; the world is mostly healthy"
Thus starts the day with a polite old ritual

I sip my tea and honor every ritual
A hopeful click, a soft and measured check
The charts do yoga; they seem pleasantly healthy
One scroll, two taps, I glance the status
A ping that says, "Relax"—a friendly signal
No drama, just the ordinary pulse

The logs recite their lullaby of pulse
I nod along, a monk of uptime ritual
A blinking dot performs its semaphore signal
I mark the box: another humble check
No fires today; the page reports its status
My notebook smiles and writes the word: healthy

Even the coffee says the brew is healthy
Steam curls like graphs that rise and fall in pulse
The screen displays a cheerful, boring status
I keep it light; it's just a daily ritual
A tiny joke, a triumphant double-check
The system bows with one last wink of signal

If errors lurk, they hide; I see no signal
The quiet hum suggests a sturdy healthy
Still, I perform the time-tested check
Because the best machines still like a pulse
And I like mornings shaped by simple ritual
A tidy line that reads: untroubled status

So ends the scan, a light and breezy status
A grin, a nod, a satisfied signal
Tomorrow brings the same dependable ritual
May all our circuits keep their manners healthy
May every beep be just the everyday pulse
And may my thumb remember where to check

Small notes to self: respect the status, then check
A laugh, a wink, the shy and steady signal, pulse
All's well enough; keep calm, keep kind, keep healthy ritual

Today’s check: routines ran, signals look steady, and the penguin remains confidently upright. If something ever looks off, we’ll say so—without oversharing.