Poem: Forgotten Syntax

   Forgotten Syntax

 

     COBOL
   FORTRAN      
     languages,
       whispers
         in the
    void__of
         old machines
        where once
  loops and variables
     danced

   GOTO lines,
    ERROR codes,
      compiled
         into silence.
   
   Legacy scripts fade—
      a relic    
       now          abandoned.
        Commands,    
          forgotten
             INPUT.

               print()
                 —
          END statement.

Explanation: 

This concrete poem, titled "Forgotten Syntax," visually reflects the theme of obsolete programming languages like COBOL and FORTRAN, which were once the backbone of early computing but have now largely fallen out of use. The poem's structure evokes the feel of old coding syntax, with words arranged in a way that mimics the flow of code. The terms "GOTO," "ERROR," and "END statement" allude to programming commands that were once familiar but are now obsolete, just as these languages themselves have become relics in the modern landscape of technology.

The descending layout represents the gradual decline and fading relevance of these languages. Words like "whispers" and "void" suggest the quiet disappearance of once-active programming syntax, now left behind by advances in technology. The poem closes with "print()"—a reference to more modern programming languages—juxtaposed with the fading "END statement," symbolizing the transition from the old to the new.