Pen Pal
It used to be a common thing, making friends across the post, across the country, around the globe;
Writing letters to someone you had never a chance to meet, to shake hands, or hear speak.
Were they driven by a need to reach out and experience the world through a different culture
To see if there is really much difference or if everyone is of the same humanity?
Do we grow out of pen pals as we grow into our lives so separate and foreign from
The friend removed? Or have we just graduated to email, blogs, and the social networks?
.
I still write the letters, but skip the stationary and the mail and the touch of the paper,
Which would make the surrogate journey to be touched again- the connection made;
Clicking a button, and in a flash the message is sent, the thought shared but never felt.
Is something lost that the electrons cannot carry, can the image stand as firmly as the thing itself?
The impersonal penmanship of Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier New
Fails to express the unique ways you cross your t’s or the glorious dips and swirls of your Y’s.
.
Anticipation is still the rule upon sending the message.
Waiting impatiently for a reply to arrive, a slow ambling conversation.
Once upon a time the anticipation would peak once a day with the mail,
But now rides an ever increasing possibility of instantaneous delivery
To an inbox at your home or in your phone and mixed with flotsam unknown.
Is it the paper or the ink or the pixels on the screen, the carrier or the delivery
Or the distance in-between, or is it the person and the thoughts that count?
August 12th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
[...] Pen Pal [...]