by Barry Vitcov.
Once we wrote in sentences
with hue-toned voice,
punctuation as a choice and guide
to pace and tempo and how
to look-see from phrase to phrase.
Once we wrote in sentences
those secret notes passed in class
like a psst, would you like to meet later?
Hoping for a penciled reply
filled with hearts over i’s
and a serifed surprise.
Once we wrote in sentences
asking permission in a day
when we asked for permission
with the pleasantness of a gentle person
and the expectation of an inked response.
More or less we still write in sentences
often with newly invented and mysterious symbols
with a fount of fonts at our disposal.
A fountain pen’s flourish
now digital calligraphy
without a nib’s impressed elegance.
More or less a passed note
delivered with a text tone ping,
another sort of surreptitiousness,
the secret delight of anticipation.
More or less permission
keyed into a fill-in form
as a function of proforma requirement,
the expeditious use of time.
We still have once
more or less
and always the other.