Ada, between bits and stars

I met you in a dream, Ada,where machines had no bodiesand numbers dancedlike stardust.

I asked you how one couldwrite for what did not yet exist.

You gave me no answer.You showed me imagination.

I, who had learnedto ask permission,to weigh every word,to doubt even my dreams,recognized in youa freedom I could not name.

You had written algorithmswithout computers,and dreamswithout permission.

For years I believedthat the problem lay in my code.Then I understood:it was the permissionsthat were wrong.

Now I no longer seekan open door.I am learning to build one.

And when the world asks meto make myself smaller,I remember that you imaginedwhat your timecould not yet see.

You did not leave me a path.You left mea direction.

And if today I walk alone,I no longer walk in darkness.

Between the lines,between the bits,between the stars,your dream lives on.

And nowit is mine too.