when i's little
i believed
behind closed eyes
i's invisible
i'd sit at the old desk
hunt n' peckin'
click clack ca-chung
that old typewriter
every letter forever
strong & black on
a sea of white, i'd type
without correction tape
each mistake, beautiful
in it's own right
when i's little,
eyes closed, invisible.
Photo provided by Jack Az, as part of One Shoot Sunday over at One Stop.
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89 comments:
historical moment - i'm first..!!
..and now i read the poem...i too thought i'm invisible when i was small, eyes closed..
loved the...
a sea of white, i'd type
without correction tape... think sometimes we use way too much correction tape nowadays when some of the "typos" would make us more human..
Hi! Brian and Claudia...
Ah! Claudia, you "beat" me..."twice"
...Now, here goes my comment:
Nice poem...all I do (along with my mother) is collect the kind Of typewriters that you, reminisce about in your poem and dream that I will one day own an artist paintings Of your reminisce.
What a beautiful photograph...Thanks, for sharing!
DeeDee ;-D
I really like this one, thanks for sharing! :-)
That Royal machine brought back happy memories ... mistakes and all!
love.this.to.pieces.
remember learning to type on that machine! When I's a youngun. I don't think I ever thought I was invisible, though.
So well stated in relatively brief lines. Makes me think of how time for kid just IS with invisibility, notions of pretended superpowers and such. What's a mistake in light of being able to disappear? Very cool poem—also makes me think of a future writer daydreaming stories before being able to commit it all to paper! Awesome
each mistake beautiful in it's own right...i like that. great photo, too....have a great sunday!
you is beautiful and it shows in your work
Gads, I learned to type on typewriters like the one in the picture. Sooooo many years ago now. Ha.
It is so sweet to read how in some peoples minds (little rug rats all the way to seniors) if they can't see out they must not be seen. Very fun to read this today.
that's a great piece
beautiful and the photo oh la!!!
i's ok that was, a move like chase move, check mate...love the creativity and the poem
Nicely done, but I am guessing you are not that old....;-)
I like the little i. great response Brian...so humble and childlike. Back then the correction tape wasn't needed.
I like this better than seeing our "visibility" of today...a Royal revelation
Peace, hp
ur grammer is all wrong. ;-)
I miss typewriters...being a sensory kid everything about them was a feast for my senses..the smell of the ink, the clackity-clack of the keys, the bell, oh that bell,the way I had to press (hammer) down on the keys to get them to register, that little wheeled eraser with the black brush at the bottom ( that I imagined to be a hula girl)...my God even that crinkly typing paper. And don't get me started on carbon paper...
Oh what memories the prompt brought back today. Nice poem.
i's like this. a lot!
You described my last three years of college (journalism school) exactly. Well done, Brian.
Love the click-clackity sound of the words, too. I wish i could be invisible when I closed my eyes.
It's a childhood thing, you can't see me cause my wyes are closed and I can't see you. I think sometimes after hours of writing i's dissapearred into Tge damn machine! Great evocative poem Brian x
you's a better i's than i
i's wore a hole in the paper with my pencil eraser
lovely sounding poem
a treat for this Sunday's eyes
I used to like to click clack on the old typewriter too. I think that typing was one of the best things that I learned.
Pure sweetness captured there Brian. Sometimes it's hard to remember back to when we loved and admired our mistakes. Thanks for the reminder.
A great thought expressed poetically. Well done. I think simple thoughts and concepts like this poem speak profoundly. Thank you for sharing such a precious gift.
So beautiful!
Nice -- I remember my first encounter with a typewriter and how important my words looked on the paper.
What a delight! Thanks
Aww, I like the simplicity of this one. Nice.
Did you really?
What a lovely thought and visual, of you.
I wish I would've been that curious.
My mother wrote poetry, and was published in South America. There was always, the typewriter, open on the kitchen table. Waiting for her.
I remember seeing her, peck away, late at night, after my father's death, when I was 6. But I never ever sauntered over to try it for myself.
How curious...you've put me back in a memory this morning.
What a sweet surprise.
Thank you, Brian.
We used to play and type on a typewriter like this when we were little..fun memory!
I like these words:
"every letter forever
strong & black on
a sea of white, i'd type
without correction tape
each mistake, beautiful
in it's own right"
I agree, we use too much correction tape these days. Our mistakes are needed to live fully and grow!
I started my first novel on a manual typewriter. It looked a little like this, I like to think.
- Alice
This was lovely and somewhat nostalgic for me.
Really nice.
=)
still have a file of old typewritten stories. typos, x-outs and all.
Funny how perfect and proper typing was expected to be back then.. compared with all of the abbreviations kids use in texting these days.
Nicely done.. and I love the photo.
So cute...well done!
Perfect take on the prompt. Loved this.
What a gift - to feel invisible and, better yet, not to worry over mistakes.
Love this Brian.
Perfect little piece, brian, in every conceivable way. You've stripped all learned affectations and adult obfuscation and got down to that lure of primal expression that drags us to click the keys and admire the result. Our egos are laid bare, but gently, like a moth in the hand of child.
What a wonderful poem, Brian! I love it's compression, the imitation of the child's voice and error, and of course the beauty of mistakes. I can't help but relate how the poet/typist is in a way always "invisible"--present in voice, yes, but never "seen." Fantastic write!
long time since i was little ...... i was more infatuated with baby dolls and sewing machines with foot treadles
i like this...lots
I love making mistakes even when I is not little! Overconfidence? Audacity? whatever... :D
Coincidentally I discovered my dad's Olivetti in my mom's library today! :)
beauty in flaws....lovely.
O wonderful with the correction tape...I had a desk full of it and white out too...bkm
I think I learned how to type on that typewriter.
LOVE this! Great take on this picture!
I learned to type on a manual typewriter and I still miss the sound of the key-strike and reaching up to make the carriage return...
Bought an old typewriter last month and it brings wonderful texture and imperfection to a page. Great write.
"i" like it!
You know, my kids still "clickity clack" away on an "old fashioned" computer keyboard. They love the sound of the keys and play "store". But I remember the heavy, cumbersome strokes with the truly old typewriters and how tired my fingers got. I was so thrilled to take turns in HIGH SCHOOL!! on the fancy new electronic ones. LOL
Didn't we all pretend to be invisible at times....magical :)
and yes...I learned to type without a correction tape. Gosh we're both old ;)
Ah did such things ever really exist! Lovely poem Brian.
Brilliant.
My father had a typewriter when i was little.
I do remember the correction tape thing.
True enough, back then you couldn't just push the delete key. lol.
Cool poem here Brian
everything's big when eye's small. Everything's small when eyes big.
masterymistery at
cosmic rapture
Well, I really like this. Wit and nostalgia, all typed out - together.
Wow. You get lots of comments. It's kinda intimidating. One more, a drop in the metaphorical bucket.
But I don't care. I came, I read, I wrote:
I too like the simplicity of your poem. I like the little "i"s. I like the invisibility of closed eyes, and I liked the the idea that mistakes are beautiful.
In my wood carvings, I like to let the tool marks show. Mistakes? What ARE they?
Ah yes, I remember the old typewriters. Used my share. Made my share of mistakes too. And where would we be without the hunt-n-peck method.
I love typewriters...
Happy Sunday Brian.
Brilliant , Brian,
I read it out loud even.
and my typewriter and I were best friends for years.
And to think kids now don't even know what a typewriter even is
While for frig sakes, you are trying to cover up your mistakes.
Blaming them on an old typewriter, I thought you were a fighter.
Oh right you wore that gown, maybe I should mail you a crown.
Whoops I was supposed to keep that quiet, maybe instead I'll go on a diet.
Anyway thanks for the share, if really ruffled my hair.
By that I mean it was good, not broken down like an old piece of wood.
Oh did I take another jab at the typewriter being ancient to me, hahaha I laugh so hard I could pee.
I better go now before this gets to long, or you get so mad you do something wrong.
So I steal a line from you and bid you adieu.
How do you do that! This perfectly captured the feeling.
nice, jj
love this line..."I'd type without correction tape." I love how children are honest and transparent.
-Mel
My grandparent's had an old typewriter like this. My brother's and I loved to type on it, and of course one key always stuck, but we loved everything we typed, mistakes or not, like life, we need to take the good with the bad. Great reminder.....
I still try that eyes-closed thing to make myself invisible.
Love the photo! My daughter always thought if she closed her eyes, I couldn't see her. That's how she played hide and seek. :)
Comment #72...Simple, yet an exposition of early life of a boy. I's one of them what LIKES it!
I remember wishing I could be invisible! It typically was a wish I had when my sisters refused to let me hang out with them. Or at Xmas time when I wanted to see a special red-suited man in our house! :)
I did the same, sitting there hitting the keys with my small fingers, sometimes they missed. And at times the keys would stay suspended in the air, it made me laugh.
Hope all is well with you, I am back and missed your lovely writing.;)
xoxo
great reflection on the little one - insulated from so much
Nice Bri
I too remember being mesmerized watching the letters and numbers appear on the white white page!! Now typing with the computer just isn't the same...the magic isn't there!!
Hugging you
SueAnn
Really nice...! Lovely post.
I don't miss those old typewriters at all... but I love your poem Brian.
Love the brevity of this piece and
the innocence, Brian.
Pamela
Great use of voice, short line breaks, excellent language/word choices, blah blah blah. :)
Good times...typewriter days and the days of being little and thinking i's was invisible! Fantastic!
Nice take, Brian! A deceptively simple look back in time--child like yet poignant. I love how spare you write your lines, yet, how you empower them. Thanks gain!
awesome! :)
i's lovin' this. every mistake beautiful...eyes of grace
How lovely this is - the innocent age of the portable typewriter, and youth.
Can I just say that this is one of my favorites for sure.
"...click clack ca-chung..." and "each mistake, beautiful in it's own right when i's little, eyes closed, invisible."
This is perfect. I love it :)
This is well written and perfectly complements the picture which prompted it.
Love the innocence and budding writer portrayed in this. Long before I could read, I loved the printed page. My dad had a box of paperbacks in the attic. I would hold them, and imagine the worlds hidden inside.
Wonderfully told story!
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