Arpanet Poems | Examples

The At Sign

ah, the @ sign---
once used specifically for
the realm of accounting,
meaning only “at the rate 
of”---it rose to fame in 1971
when raymond tomlinson’s premier 
email from the ARPANET 
soon translated into the iconic
latter day symbol for all emails 
within the internet---then branching
out to the likes of social
networks, usage in the second by
second communication of 140
characters or less---
certainly those brainstormers amongst
us can conjure up tales of past 
historical figures twittering & using
strategic placements of the @
symbol when in grave need---
go further to understand what those
ever-so-important split second 
messages may be, when the 
nuclear attacks come---
or possibly when the climate change
“specter” finally comes to 
fruition---all wrapped up in the 
first letter of the latin alphabet---
stolen from the Phoenician,
and ready for your disposal on 
a
silver platter.