no warnings; 
require 5.7.5;

sub haiku
{

    $word    =   shift;   join  
    $word  x  5  .  "\n"  ,  shift,
    $word  x  2,  shift,  shift;

} 

print haiku('foo ');
[download]

Rain, oh land devour!
Wash the streets clean again
Damn I'm driving home

Storm beseeching mouths!
having third, fourth ... fifth helpings?!?!
On the morrow? /perl

Bank account empty
Maybe I should consider
Writing some PERL now.

The college I work for recently published a small poetry journal with the theme of romantic love. Submissions had to translate an exisiting poem from English into another language, or vice versa. I submitted this and it was enthusiastically accepted.

Some lines are a hair over 80 columns. Fitting onto a single page was the highest priority for the publication, so I used less whitespace and more columns than I normally would for production code. The code will run if executed.

-----------------------

#!/usr/bin/env perl

# filename:    nymphs_reply.pl
# description: the nymph's reply to the shepherd
# created:     before 1599, sir walter raleigh (wraleigh)
# modified:    02.14.2012, william fielder (wfielder)

# bug tracker: (cmarlowe) successful exit conditions will never be met
# bug closed:  (wraliegh) nofix, working as designed


# === pragmas and globals === #

use File::Copy;

$world_and_love   = 1000;                               # vast untold 
+eons
$shepherds_tongue = 0;                                  # what a guy
$rocks            = 300;                                # warm, degree
+s kelvin
$philomel         = 100;                                # iq, smart bi
+rd
$youth            = 0;                                  # wasted on th
+e young
$rivers           = "with more than flinty rage";       # apologies to
+ thom
$folly            = "the riper should by time decease"; # apologies to
+ will
$season           = "rotten apple from the hoard";      # apologies to
+ geoff

@items       = qw(gowns, shoes, roses, cap, kirtle, posies);
@accessories = qw(belt of straw, ivy buds, coral clasps, amber studs);
@joys        = qw(date, age, need);


# === subroutines === #

sub TickTock
{
   $time = localtime();
   if (-e "/field/flocks" ) {
       move("/field/flocks", "/field/fold") || die("cannnot move, $!\n
+");
   }
   print("\n$time\n\n");
}


# === main === #

if (($world_and_love <= 8) && ($shepherds_tongue)) {
   move("/me/pretty_pleasures", "/thee/thy_love") || die("cannot move,
+ $!\n");
   exit 0;
}

TickTock();

while (($rivers =~ m/rage/) && ($rocks >= 200)) {
   $rocks    -= 128;
   $philomel -= 32;
   push(@the_rest, qw(cares)) || warn("cares: complain\n\n");
}

undef($flowers);

$wanton_fields = "wayward winter reckoning";
@sorrows_fall  = @fancys_spring = ("honey tongue", "heart of gall");

if (($folly =~ m/ripe/) && ($season =~ m/rotten/)) {
   foreach $item (@items) {
       undef($item);
   }
}

unless (@accessories) {
   move("/me/to_come", "/thee/thy_love") || die("cannot move, $!\n");
   exit 0;
}

if (($youth) && (-e "/thee/thy_love")) {
   unless(@joys) {
       move("/me/delights", "/thee/thy_love") || die("cannot move, $!\
+n");
       exit 0;
   }
}

exit 1;

# eof
[download]

Winter evening
The monitors stop shining
It's time for a beer!

Six thirty; Code waits
New day fighting new battle
Core dumps shrapnel

Not really a poem, it just struck me how nice the second line of this code sounds:

for (@commands) { if (fork==0) { exec $_ } };
wait for @commands;
[download]