The Coder

So, let's meet the coder;
he is the system architect.

You'll find him an empty office,
debugging the backend.

He parses, line by line,
the grand façade, the face;

Bishopsgate glitches.
A fine mist rises, envelops

the building. Firewall, on.
The City accepts this new

configuration. He is pleased,
rocks back on his swivel chair,

hears a grumble of piping.
Sudden stink of soil, oysters.

The hard disc whirrs as
a programme loads up.

The coder smiles and clicks.
Cutout figures begin to stalk

an imagined corridor,
form rows in a classroom.

Two cutouts assume
a common Yoga position;

in the Hall a faceless pianist
plays to a wedge of seating.

There is a knock at the door.
The coder stops, smiles briefly

and reaches down for
the Anti-Virus software.


This poem starts out by figuring Bishopsgate Institute metaphorically as a computer system, complete with 'back-end' and 'front-end' architecture. The coder is a fictitious person, of course, but in some ways represents all the tireless behind-the-scenes work that goes into making the Institute work. The building refurbishment work planned for the Institute heralds all sorts of new and exciting directions - this is referred to in 'this new / configuration' and the imagined, virtual reality figures practising yoga etc.

© Tom Chivers, May 2008
http://thisisyogic.wordpress.com