The Gospel of Bent Pins

(compiled from breadboard confessions and the marginalia of tech support tickets closed unresolved)

i.

first pin—
bent inward
like a monk’s head
at morning mass
found in a lga1151 socket
wedged
like a thorn in the side
of the data bus
it was straightened
with a sewing needle
dipped in spit
and held between tweezers
by someone praying
not to flinch

ii.

blessed is the child
who tried to force
a vga cable
into a dvi port
and in doing so
revealed the nature
of apostleship:
to connect
in error
and remain

iii.

a laptop hinge broke
revealing five wires:

— blue (sleep)

— black (ground)

— yellow (fan)

— red (faith)

— white (lid closed)

the red was cut
by accident
and the fan stopped
believing

iv.

the technician
speaking in tongues:
"reseat the ram—
no—
reseat it again—"
each time
he bends one pin straighter
and another folds beside it
like it’s praying
wrong

v.

someone dropped
a cpu
onto concrete
watched its pins crumple
like insects
they straightened it
on a magazine
with an expired AAA card
and installed it anyway
the system booted once
and never again
but the power led
blinked
like a votive candle

vi.

one pin went missing
entirely
vanished
and yet
the signal still passed through
a ghost-pulse
transmitted on faith
or crosstalk
the manual said
"reserved"
and we said
amen

vii.

in a confession booth
built of server racks
a boy admitted
he’d bent a header
on purpose
to avoid grounding
the priest
asked
if the machine still ran
it did
then you are forgiven

viii.

last night
they found a motherboard
in the trash behind the parish
eight pins bent
like reeds in a flood
they pressed each
into place
with a worn guitar pick
and in the morning
it posted
no errors
only
the date:
2001
and a prompt:


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