I remove the slender instrument
from its elegant box
so glossy, so white
so flagrantly expensive
I feel its weight and sense its power
so glossy, so white
so flagrantly expensive
I feel its weight and sense its power
as I cradle it in my hands
I'm excited at first by its magic
as it transforms my scrawls into tidy text
excited by the endless choices
font size, thickness, color, brightness
I play and play until I feel a frown coming
something is missing from these perfect markings
something is missing from this gleaming glass
it turns out I need the imperfections
I need the messy letters
I need my barely legible scrawl
to think straight, just to think straight
and so I slink back to the store
return the frivolous instrument
and pick up a boring ballpoint
Much more appreciative now
of all the left-handed smudges
that spill upon my dreams.