Filled with ink my pen-tip describes lines...

Filled with ink my pen-tip describes lines...

Filled with ink my pen-tip describes lines

Black on white paper.  Watercolor

Paper.  One hundred percent cotton

Rag.  One hundred and forty pound

Weight.  Acid-free.  It is better 

Than I am.  It's soft -- and its cold-pressed 

Surface leads my pen round the ups and downs

That make this hand-made paper unique.

I say that I draw -- but I am drawn.

I say I control the pen -- but

It controls me.  I watch the dark

Indian ink lake ripple as I dip 

The nib in again -- and I pretend. 

© 2014 Firestone Feinberg

Reviews

[icelandicblue]

I say that I draw -- but I am drawn.
I say I control the pen -- but
It controls me. I watch the dark
Indian ink lake ripple as I dip
The nib in again -- and I pretend.

Oh how I have felt this. I have read something I have written and wonder where it came from and how did I do it. I love the allusion to paper. I worked for a printer in college and I have a special affinity for paper and those who can handle it skillfully.

[Firestone Feinberg]

Thanks for reading my poem and for your warm comments. I am absolutely in love with paper -- in fact, I'll admit to you that I am an inveterate 'paper hoarder!' I have saved paper for years and am still too stubborn to use it (I paint a bit -- watercolors). Anyhow, thanks again for your kindness.

[John]

The poem has an elegance and precision to match the art of calligraphy that it describes. There is nothing comparable in pressing keys on a keyboard and watching the words appear on the screen. Unless a tune plays as you type, writing using a computer can feel like a pretty routine activity. Of course, you do get to choose font and letter size, which in the case of the poem above, contribute to its effect. It would be a different poem in Times Roman Numeral.

[Firestone Feinberg]

Yeah -- being able to choose font and size are wonderful; but this one, Courier (a non-proportional font), was the one used by most typewriters. That's why I use it a lot. It reminds me of 'real' writing. Thanks for your kind review and for your special wisdom.