The Write-Off.

the day my writing died... i'm sure you can all relate!

Then, all of a sudden

In a cruel, wicked blur

It all came to a holt

And I watched it all burn

 

As the wheels of my words

Grasped broken brakes

I turned to see that I

Was far too late…

 

If only I’d thought ahead, they’d be saved.

 

But instead, there

– my heart,

In the flow of the pen

In the form of a pdf

–went.

 

I stare at the damage,

Numb and shocked,

I sigh and accept

And deem it a write-off.

 

Reviews

[Sara Henry Heistand]

Witty witty witty! Yes, you described this whole thing very well. And I'm a little weirded out that I can relate to this on two separate planes.

I live near Pittsburgh, which I understand to have sucky winter weather (not the worst, but getting there) and I nearly crashed into a telephone today. And, hey, my driver's test is on Tuesday! I'm scared shitless of going near a car. ;)

Or writing anything. But today was a good day all-round for writing--for me anyway. I found an assortment of my stuff that I don't even remember backing up, I wrote an ickle free-verse poem, and I've been, ahem, editing a They Might Be Giants fan-fic. Because I'm a creepy individual.

I gotta say. This is my favorite stanza, possibly ever:

But instead, there
� my heart,
In the flow of the pen
In the form of a pdf
�went.

I honestly think yours is the only poem where "pdf" was been used. Also, I like the dividing line of

If only I'd thought ahead, they'd be saved.

At first I wasn't sure (I was reverted back to my stickler-ways), but then I found the aesthetic really appealing. It's twice the length of the other lines, it's by itself, and it's simply in the middle. I know this is, like, common knowledge, but, erm, I can't knock the feeling of wanting to explain why I like it so much. I mean, I'm sure you didn't put this much thought into it--it probably came natural to you, but I gotta say--it's supremely awesome. Also, thumbs up on the period in the title. I love your style. In some ways, your work is uniform, but always there is something about it that rips from the norm. Like, rolling up the Catholic girl skirt to make it shorter. Or. Something...

It's one o'clock in the morning here. Hi.

[Edward Clay]

i like the final line. the thing is, is that poems like these make up for the ones tha went missing - when some poems dissapear and are forgotten, new ones spring up. and they havent really gone. they came from you to start with - your ideas, your feelings - and unless you have a new brain and heart, they aren't truly gone.

[Richard McLin]

I saved a good chunk of my writing, but not all of it. I lost a few pieces that really meant something to me, and this piece really illustrates that. You did a great job on this one.

Richard.

[fireblossom]

I assume you lost some or much of your writing with the big delete of writerscafe. Because I can relate I feel so very bad for you Kiri. You indeed learned a lesson along with many others. Your creations are precious and should be kept in a safe place. Your hard drive isn't safe either. They must be saved on a static medium as in disk or flash drive.

One more thing. You are an inspirational writer. In my estimation you should not try and "find" the same poems in your memory. Simply write sweetness. You are so good new great things will come forth.

You are one of my favorites.

All the best

fireblossom