# The 404 poem

*2007-03-14*

> A humorous poem found on a 404 error page, told from a web server's point of view with a nod to Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven.

While browsing, I came across this poem instead of a standard 404 error page.

> It is said, “To err is human,”  
> That quote from alt.times.lore,  
> Alas, you have made an error,  
> So I say, “404.”
>
> Double-check your URL,  
> As we all have heard before.  
> You ask for an invalid filename,  
> And I respond, “404.”
>
> Perhaps you made a typo -  
> Your fingers may be sore -  
> But until you type it right,  
> You’ll only get 404.
>
> Maybe you followed a bad link,  
> Surfing a foreign shore;  
> You’ll just have to tell that author  
> About this 404.
>
> I’m just a lowly server  
> (Who likes to speak in metaphor),  
> So for a request that I don’t know,  
> I must return 404.
>
> Be glad I’m not an old mainframe  
> That might just dump its core,  
> Because then you’d get a ten-meg file  
> Instead of this 404.
>
> I really would like to help you,  
> But I don’t know what you’re looking for,  
> And since I don’t know what you want,  
> I give you 404.
>
> Remember Poe, insane with longing  
> For his tragically lost Lenore.  
> Instead, you quest for files.  
> Quoth the Raven, “404!”