Customise!

I sit, in office chair, to start a task

I stare at desktop, wearing its new mask

Exotic City in some foreign climes

Or fish beneath the waves, performing mimes

The choice is endless; lots of desktop themes

Giraffe-like shadows flit across our screens

Yosemite, the Dolomites, take your pick,

There’s an image somewhere that will help you ‘click’.

And not just pictures: sounds are up for grabs,

Different noises punctuate like stabs,

Variety so infinite, made to see

If customising makes it feel ‘like me’.

Determine which (if any) programs run,

Once startup has commenced, the mind to stun

Shortcuts, function keys, hot corners, such

The variations endless – all too much?

Displacement is the obvious danger here

We try to get the settings right, and crystal clear

But like a restaurant menu, lose our voice

Confronted by the agony of choice.

We spend so long on choosing everything,

The look, the colour, the ambience to bring

Aesthetic clarity to all we do,

As background to the tasks we must get through.

Results? Well, they are often hard to find,

No greater clarity of heart and mind,

Amidst the constant settings, Jobs’ menu,

I’ve forgotten what I sat down here to do.