Sine Qua Non

 

He had written everything

He could possibly say.

The words had flown

From his fingertips

Onto the computer screen

With an eloquence

Few could match,

And yet it was missing something,

He believed.

Sure, he had the vocabulary –

The diction was simply superb,

Full of dictionary-researched words

And all those wonderful grammatical

Terms that his English teachers

Had pressed on him

            Alliteration

            Parallelism

            Meiosis –

Yet, something,

Something

Was still absent.

Of course, he had the flow –

It was nearly a river

Upon the monitor,

Practically streaming off

The display, it was so

Smooth and velvety –

But still,

It was not complete.

And then it hit him –

Although he had written everything,

            Every word

            Every sentence

            Every expression

He had said absolutely nothing.

 

 

Reviews

[His Insight Justified]

Definitely something every writer should think about. How you write is so much less important than what you mean. Writing should be like painting, not every brush stroke is the same. Hell, the painting doesn't even have to look like anything! As long as it expresses the emotion. I'm glad someone has finally addressed this. This goes to my favorites.

[Erin Sky]

I'm slightlly obsessed with format right now - and I really like the way this poem looks on the page (er, screen) short lines, sparse, well used indents...and its groovy in sound as well. bravo!

[Nicholas Hallows]

This is excellent! I've been having these thoughts myself lately, searching for something to say. This is going in my library! NH

[Edward Clay]

now this speaks. and it is reflects quite well my opinions on writing. especially with poetry. it's your pallet, your words. and to hell with syntax, and a metaphore thats incorrect - a perfectly constructd mistake is better than accurate alliteration.

i really liked this. thank you for writing it. by the way, what does the title mean?

[LostCauze[:P]]

Absolutely remarkable. Every aspect of the poem is absolutely perfect and well wrote. The structure was unique because you stopped to list something which added more onto the poem. Alot of people including myself can relate to the piece were you have written so much it feels like youve been going in circles yet you havent written anything that ment anything at all. Another positive thing is you said "He" instead of basing the writing on yourself. Overall i really enjoyed this poem. Great Write. Keep writing.

[Legion]

Brilliantly performed. The automaton with no inclination of the rhyme or reason of his existence. You have caught a moment of realization so perfectly here. Bravo! When you get a chance, check out my poems "Quantity vs. Quality", "Write! (Frankenstein as the Poet)", "Within the Shallows", and "Weilding the Weapon of Mass Destruction". You are truly a magnificient predator of the perfect poem. Great work!

[Sr.phil]

nice addition at the end, really great ending. I liked how you seperated the "big" words from the trivial words. I feel like you tell a story rather then poem, more of a prose poem. Eventhough, i really liked it. It might be just me but the creation your describing, could it be the creation i just read?

[Andromeda]

LOVE THIS!!!!!!!!!!! yes!!