I'm Just a Spiral Notebook You See...

I'm a  small spiral notebook kept on the kitchen counter.
Full of phone numbers, notes, grocery lists and drawings.

I'm just a spiral notebook you see..
But I was there the day they rushed him to the ER.

In me are notes of what the doctors were saying
and questions to ask them...
Collections of phone numbers from people who visited
and lists of thing to do.

Written on my pages are now phone numbers for
the lung doctor, the heart doctor,
The cancer doctor and cancer center.

I hold notes of conversations with the Social Security Office,
the insurance agent and the funeral home.

My owner doesn't  NEED these things anymore.
She doesn't WANT them anymore.
But she can't bring herself to throw me out.

So I sit here on the counter.  I have no blank pages left.
A grim ghost that mocks her everyday life.
Written documentation of a life she never wanted to lose,
and of a life she never wanted to have.

There's a  new spiral beside me now,
 Serene and faded purple; its blank pages are waiting
 to have entered the quotidian bits of information needed to carry forward.
 
Here we sit side by side on the counter,
one missing pages and cluttered with writing and drawings,
the other sparkling and pristine. Side by side, we are waiting.

I'm just a spiral notebook you see....

Reviews

[Jet Lag]

this made me sad, which is a good sign of powerfully crafted pieces. it moved me. i own several spiral notebooks and binders... some contain information on how to manage crisis, and others how to organize chaos, and still others how to wait for enlightenment. what a wonderful theme and how well you designed this. thank you for sending it to me.

[Shawna]

I like it. And I know you, you'll never throw the old notebook out you'll find a place to put it while you start working on the new one. But the old one will never be that far from your mind or your heart. Love you Aunt Brenda.

[Melanie Jane Boicourt S..]

Wow! Powerful writing! Very unforseen twist. Word choice was excellent.
Loved it.
Love All, Mejasha

[Michael X]

brenda, i really enjoyed how you give personality to the note-book, bringing its pages to life, this is very sad, bordering heartwrenching, the imaginative aspect really draws the reader to a state of pondering as well as feeling the events that have been scripted through time to reflect the emotions that also accured, to see through the eyes of the notebook's recording, as if imprinted in time, i really enjoyed the way your thoughts conform to the design, eloquent, imaginative, powerful writing, you have a way with feelings and creativeness.

[Undone1]

How unique! You have my vote in the contest.

[Writer CW Kirkland]

I thought this poem was very entertaining, and it made me smile at the end. The flow of the poem was excellent, and the subject was very interesting. I didn't feel bad for the old notebook because you helped the reader understand the importance of the item. Even though a new notebook is nearby, the old one is still needed. Nice job. Thank you for sharing your writing on the Cafe, and I look forward to reading more of your writing in the future.

[Candle in the wind]

What a poignant embodiment of pain and loss the spiral notebook is and how it bears silent agony and a fruitless struggle against destiny.I am speechless!

[Mark Pearce]

Wow.

A great literary work is one that says more than its words literally say. This piece does that big time.

There is a story behind this story, and I'm sure that many of your readers can relate to that hidden story. I know that I can.

Thank you for entering this piece into "The Kitchen Sink" competition. It is a worthy and contrasting, competitive work.


Mark Pearce

[Blackbirdsong]

This is truly wonderful raw and painful writing Brenda. A big well done to you for this one. You really are at your best when you write like this. To think of writing this from the perspective of a spiral notebook who is doomed to carry all of this painful and traumatic things and does so anyway. Brilliant.

[None]

Excellent personification and emotional content. It would be hard to part with that notebook, especially after inspiring such a heartfelt story-poem!

[Sqeaver]

Very good view. Great write.