The 404 sonnet

Many years ago, I was administering a new server and we needed a custom 404 page.
So I wrote a sonnet:

• So many years have passed since first you sought
• the lands beyond the edges of the sky,
• so many moons reflected in your eye,
• (familiar newness, fear of leaving port),
• since first you sought, and failed, and learned to fall,
• (first hope, then cynicism, silent dread,
• the countless stars, still counting overhead
• the seconds to your final voyage of all…)
• and last, in glory gold and red around
• your greatest search, your final quest to know!
• yet… ashes drift, the embers cease to glow,
• and darkened life in frozen death is drowned;
• and ashes on the swell are seen no more.
• The silence surges. Error 404.

It began to spread rather virally, and was often used without my permission, so I decided to release it under cc-by-nc-nd. That means you're allowed to copy it and use it, as long as you credit me, and as long as you don't charge for it or change it. (But feel free to modify the CSS to restyle it.) If you would like to use it under some other terms, please contact me.

How to install it on your server

• wget http://marnanel.org/projects/404sonnet/404.html -O /var/www/404.html
• In your httpd.conf, add: ErrorDocument 404 /404.html
• Restart Apache.

If you use it

You don't have to, but I'd like it if you let me know. I can list it here if you like.

Sightings

• thurman.org.uk (I admin this site)
• shavian.org.uk (I admin this site)
• pinkstuff.publication.org.uk (the original server)
• "my favourite 404 of all time"
• The Cherokee project uses it by permission.
• many others, mostly without permission (and Google doesn't even index 404 pages)
• Kosmokaryote

What it means

Anyone interested in an analysis of the poem?

Others on the same theme

• Chris Pirillo has also written a 404 sonnet, independently.
  I like mine better, but I would say that, wouldn't I?
• The subject has been raised on MetaFilter.