Staying Power.

It was another poetry meeting tonight, and I think I managed to hold my own. Today's poem is inspired partially by my last blog post, actually: "Words That Stay" is still resonating with me, and encouraged me to try getting a bit fancier in my philosophizing about paper. I really like "rubber scars" when talking about eraser marks, even if the phrase "don't hide any lies" is a bit clunky.

But hey - if I can like two words in an eighteen-line poem, I'm probably doing better than most poets. : )

A split down the spine and two volumes are born
multiplication from division
another clean canvas with every leaf torn
previous chapters are forgiven
pore over the pages left scattered behind
evidence of an early edition
the scars of rubber don't hide any lies
subtraction now becomes addition

The threatening cast of a permanent record
clouds over confidence and heightens the risk
feed its existence into a shredder
end its reality, set it adrift
at the cellular level a problem is found
the grain is a network of splinters and chips
the might of a forest, internally bound
shredders will choke, they will jam, they will spit.

It's a curse and a blessing for novels and plays:
The essence of writing is words that will stay.