[Intro]

The hinge gives way at thirty degrees.
The fan complains before I press a key.
A violet stripe divides the screen,
But Asset Management calls it "within routine."

[Verse]

I hold the charger at a careful angle,
One book beneath the case to stop the wobble.
The battery lasts for eleven minutes,
Long enough to join a call, not finish in it.

Yesterday the keyboard lost the letter R,
Today the trackpad thinks my hand is far.
I paste one sentence from a saved old draft:
"Replacement required for operational staff."

The form asks whether work can still proceed.
I type "technically" because that is what they need.
A dropdown offers "urgent," "high" or "low."
I choose "urgent" and watch the status slow.

[Pre-Chorus]

Procurement says the model has one year more.
Finance says exceptions need the board.
The board says tools are a local concern.
My laptop says nothing, then starts to burn.

[Chorus]

No laptop this quarter,
Make the old machine go farther.
Hold the cable, save each file,
Restart twice and learn to smile.

We can fund a future vision,
But not the screen that builds the system.

[Verse]

At ten I share my screen with twenty names,
The cursor freezes over revenue claims.
My camera turns my face into a square,
Then leaves one eye suspended in the air.

The client asks if something has gone wrong.
I say, "A minor issue," and move along.
Behind the call, the cooling fan ascends
Like a small aircraft that never quite departs.

People and Culture sends a wellness link:
"Protect your focus. Pause. Breathe. Think."
The page takes ninety seconds to appear.
By then the meeting has returned to fear.

[Chorus]

No laptop this quarter,
Make the old machine go farther.
Tape the hinge and dim the light,
Save the work before it dies.

We can buy advice by the hour,
But not replace the failing hardware.

[Guitar Interlude]

[Bridge]

Nadine comes down and hears the grinding fan.
"You're not the reason we are red," she says—
"This laptop costs less than one consulting day."

For once, somebody says what I have said.

[Build-up]

The screen goes black.
The room goes still.
The charger sparks against the sill.

I press the switch.
The logo crawls.
The future loads, then freezes all.

[Final Chorus]

No laptop this quarter,
Says the policy to the worker.
Every hour lost to failure
Becomes an invoice marked "behaviour."

But when the transformation misses,
Do not ask who broke the system.

[Outro]

I save the file to three locations,
Then send myself the latest version.
The violet line remains on the screen.

So do I.