As I sit and code by day and night,
I add a theme of dark and of light.
My code is clean, my code is sleek,
My code is fast, it can't be beat.
With animations of CSS,
And JavaScript special effects,
A smart and professional website,
That I coded by day and night.
Back in November 2021, I set myself a challenge to write a short poem every day for a month. It's now January 2022, and although it's been 3 months since I started, I'm finding it difficult to stop. It's become part of my morning routine, while waiting for the kettle to boil so I can have my first coffee of the day.
There once was a coder of C,
Who wanted to work with Web3.
He looked at Blockchain,
To see what he'd gain,
And now he just makes NFTs.
I've received a lot of positivity and encouragement from these Code Poems, even to the point where I get messages from people asking where today's poem is if I miss a day (which isn't often I must admit). People in the tech world seem to resonate with what I write in these limericks, haikus, and rhymes, partly because they draw from my own experiences, other times they parody the news, trends, or world events, but from a programmer's perspective.
I'm a coder, my name is Andrew,
I code in JavaScript, but not in Vue.
I code with PHP, CSS, and MySql,
But sometimes I feel I'm in coder Hell.
Rewriting code, refactoring functions,
No I'm not crying, I'm chopping onions.
Coming up with new, witty, and charming poems every day is tough. Sometimes I think of a rhyme, before realising I've done something similar already, and it's only been 3 months. Other times, trying to find a subject I haven't explored yet, without treading over the same tropes is tricky. There's a lot in the tech world I am not familiar with (Web3, Vue, AI and ML), and I don't want to offend or do anyone a disservice by writing about something I know nothing about.
As I sit here and code all day,
I often think I've found my way.
Making web apps and awesome things,
Using maths, numbers, bools and strings.
Like CSS Art, and Loading Screens,
I always have fun making these things.
So the question is, why do I do it? Why do I force myself to come up with these silly rhymes every day?
Exercise.
The brain is like a muscle. And just like muscles, it benefits from regular exercise. Of course, coding all day counts as exercise, but one vital part of exercise is warming up. Any athlete, gym enthusiast, or doctor will tell you to make sure you warm up prior to any exercise. So these little bouts of creativity while I wait for my morning coffee is the warm up to my day of thinking and coding. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and kick-starts your metabolism. Writing these short poems everyday is like the breakfast for creativity.
Years ago, when I started coding the 'net,
I never dreamed I'd build an app for my pet.
But after a while, I built my new site,
And people liked it, much to my delight.
So let this be a lesson to everyone,
Coding is profitable, and coding is fun!
In conclusion, I write code poems every morning for several reasons. They're fun to read, fun to write, and people seem to like them. But most importantly, I write them because it's been helping my creativity, and making my work more enjoyable. You too should do something quick and creative in the morning, and see if it benefits you the same way. I'll leave you with this quick poem I've not posted anywhere else:
I code for fun, I code for play,
If I could, I'd code every day.
But life happens, both good and bad,
Yet I still code, for which, I'm glad.