Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Pen and paper

 ***

Back to basics

Putting aside excuses about
not having good paper
or dedicated notebook, about
not liking my own handwriting;

thumb aches, hunching over
scribblings, I'm holding the pen
too tightly -- the grip has become
strange, strained; dexterity

was lost from banging on keyboards.
These eyes are accustomed
to the default Times New Roman
font, not these blue lashes
whipping odd tracks across lined pages.

Watch out:

the ink will need time to dry,
stain,
absorb;

it could smudge if you are careless
balancing a point on the 'i'
or crossing beams for a 't'.

So here are my lines written down on paper --

seems so rushed,
so messy,
so rough;
     different, raw.


***

Posted at dVerse Open Link Night #29. Very insightful post by Joe Hesch on the page, do check it out and share your own poem.

29 comments:

Laurie Kolp said...

Isn't it funny how we get used to the computer? I still like to write them out on paper first, but that's getting rarer... when I do, I'm more apt to leave something out.

http://lkkolp.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/dont-feed-maps-to-the-goats/

Audrey Howitt aka Divalounger said...

Liked this--I am a pencil and notebook kinda gal myself---I make do with an eraser--and then they sit for a while before they make their way to a computer---

@AudreyHowitt

Brian Miller said...

nice...mine always start in the notebook...the scratch of the pen and smudged lines...then i have to decipher them...i like mine raw...

Scarlet said...

I like the basics sometimes...its raw and messy for sure ~

http://a-sweetlust.blogspot.com/2012/01/honour.html

Daydreamertoo said...

I always scribble my words on paper in notebooks and my teen says to me. "Your hand writing is dreadful, you can't read a word of what you say." I reply: "YOU are not supposed to be able to read what I write, so, it doesn't matter if you can read it or not, does it!" LOL
Lovely piece describing it all so well, too.

Ravenblack said...

Laurie, Divalounger, Brian, Heaven: Thanks for the comments.

I used to write and draft poems and stories on paper but over the years, I just didn't do that anymore. Then I started again. I think I needed the change.

Ravenblack said...

Daydreamer: LOL! Thanks for sharing that. :)

Manicddaily said...

Ha! So funny that you also wrote about blank pages! K.

Unknown said...

Quite enjoyed this scribe on parchment and in ink

Ravenblack said...

ManicD: It is funny how sometimes a few of us would be writing on similiar themes for dVerse! :D

Aidz: thanks for your visit and reading.

Kimolisa said...

I can so relate to this poem. Well written, my friend, well written.

Unknown said...

Raven, thumb aches, hunching over, scribblings…totally resonates with me…eyes accustomed…again, love the line whipping odd tracks across lined pages- so much can be divined through that line. But the entirety of watch out to raw is my favorite part here. Great job, thanks

Sheila said...

Funny i just penned one on paper today. Something i hardly ever do anymore. It felt good but is not as easy to edit (i like my cut and paste tecnique for its efficiency:)

Sky Raft Wanderer said...

Really like this, not just because I always use a pen and paper. Pads full of careening arrows and word clusters (some forgotten, some used) and my writing, which my history teacher called "chicken scratch".

It's so much fun to write on paper. Even if your hands are full of ink.

hedgewitch said...

I rarely hand write anything but my notes, which I work up on the keyboard--you give a fine sense here of how the mechanics of how effect the end product we slave to produce, even the conceptualizations.

untitledmoments said...

this is the way I like to write...

I fill a journal a month with words and words and words... there is just something about hearing the sound of a pen on your paper and times when the ink is washed with tears... idk... i get it...

This was such a creative way of captivating a beautiful artistry!

loved it!
~L

Ravenblack said...

Kimolisa, Fred, Sheila, Sky Raft Wanderer, Hedgewitch, L, thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences. :) Really appreciated it.

Anonymous said...

"blue lashes
whipping odd tracks across lined pages" love that! I write too slow to make my mind happy but I love the feel of book and pen.

Bianca said...

I always use my laptop for everything I write. From poems, to assignments, to notes for classes and when it comes to exam time its about 5 or 6 months since I have actually put pen to paper. Then the cramps start and yeah you have to make sure you dot the i's and cross the t's and I can't say I do a great job at that. Love this poem!!

Marbles in My Pocket said...

I've kept some of my "pen and paper" writings. Really strange to look at them now.
Nice write, Ravenblack!

Anonymous said...

" different, raw"

This is the best line. I really like that you indented it to show the beginning of something entirely different than the lines before. It might seem uncomfortable, foreign at first. But you know this is where a new chapter will begin. I like. :)

~Shawna

http://rosemarymint.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/the-studio/

Ravenblack said...

darkangel, Bianca, Charles, Shawna: thanks for your comments and thoughts. :)

@Bianca: I discovered that I have a tendency not to completely round off my "o"s. :D

Rachel Hoyt said...

Haha! I can actally picture a very nervous teen trying the archaic pen and pencil method for the first time as I read your words. Bravo! :)

Bodhirose said...

I sure hope that the pen and paper don't go the way of the dinosaurs! I still do like to scribble ideas on paper...but end up the finishing touches on the computer.

I missed this dVerse night but I'm glad I came by and saw this...very nice reflection.

Jannie Funster said...

I'm not really a fan of my handwriting either. I start out neat and devolve into ungainly. I'm one who loves the computer for speed and agility. And for meeting people like you I'd never have otherwise, whooohoo.

xo

Ravenblack said...

@Rachel: Yeah I think kids use pen and paper less. A lot of them seems to be carrying laptops to school from about pre-college levels onwards.

@Bodhirose: thanks. I guess I'm it's because near a computer most of the time, it's just easier to draft on computer. But it's also easier to just simply erase. Not so easy to dismiss ideas on paper. :D

@Jannie: I'm the same. lol. Glad to to have met you through this blogging thing, glad to have "met" all of the people that I have. :)

Pat Hatt said...

Yeah excuses can sure pile up, mine always start in my head and stay there until I type them out and give them a shout.

lucychili said...

yes. the hand writing often says as much as the words. =)

Ravenblack said...

@Pat: putting them out somewhere is a necessity. My ideas don't stay in my head very long... :/ :)

@Lucy: it does. I dread what mine would reveal about me to someone who analyses them! :D Thanks for coming by!