Essay on the Lost Art of Writing Letters - Part I

Ferrick Gray

for Poetry Showcase

An essay (poem) written in heroic couplets requires that certain formatting be followed. However, it can be difficult to render the formatting in a web environment.

Due to the length of this form of poem, it is necessary to use line numbers. Depending on the length, line numbers appear in steps of five or ten. Shorter poems using heroic couplets do not require the use of line numbers.

The other requirement is that the right fence should indicate triplets (or triples). In this version, the triples are shown in italics.

v 1-18: The heyday of letter writing. v 10-42: The effects of Technology. v 43-61: What happened to letters? v 62-79: Why is there no concern for letters? v 80-106: What takes all our time?

 The days of writing letters, some will say
Have gone but no, the written word will stay.
Not typed within an email, click and send,
But on some paper, thoughts expressed and penned.
In bygone days, for all communication:
For business or just friendly conversation,
The written word, in glory reigned supreme,
And not at all a chore as it may seem.
 A necessary, all-important part
Of life, for some developed to an art (10)
In penmanship. A stationer’s delight
Suppling ink and paper used to write
A letter to a loved one or a friend
Which flowed until ’twas signed off at the end.
 Was never always quill in cursive script,
Although you could, your pen in ink so dipped.
The script. The script! The pride of someone’s hand—
A skill when mastered will forever stand.
 Technology is simpler in its way—
For most of youth, that’s all there is today. (20)
No need to wait. An answer, wish or want
Appears on screens in crisp generic font.
With care and preparation less required,
’Tis natural they never feel inspired
To make the effort, set aside a while—
Handwrite a note to make another smile.
 A social obligation one may think,
To contact one and other using ink
On paper with the added human touch—
Perhaps a tale of this and that or such. (30)
But now it seems that time is of the essence,
Especially in the throes of adolescence.
 Forsooth! We text, we chat, update our status,
Technologies do all but motivate us.
Impacting facets of our general living,
Technology pretends to be all-giving
With helpful hints, and answer questions quickly,
Or find a cure if we are feeling sickly.
Intel-Artificial joins the chorus
With everything (exploited) done for us. (40)
This auto-everything, ’tis somewhat crazy,
It’s no surprise at how and why we’re lazy!
 Time passed as writers changed their intellect
To chase ambition, showing more respect—
Communication via written word,
And kept a reference of that which was heard,
But never could it be a change of mind,
Unless of course discussion of some kind
Had taken place to rectify the matter,
And thus avoid all pointless, idle chatter. (50)
 Now why is it that letters fell from favor?
Those precious moments, memories to savor.
All slowly disappearing in our time,
No more the sun-kissed days and cloudless clime
That Byron mentioned in his Beauty’s rime.
 It can’t be true! The letter is a bother?
For this or that, for one thing or another,
And what’s now thought so difficult was not
Considered such a task, but what we’ve got
Are people in positions! Yes, white collar— (60)
For making money! Praise the mighty dollar!
 It seems there’s many making poor excuses
In ignorance which only introduces
More questions, problems—all unnecessary
And as it is, once thought as temporary.
Solutions for delivery of letters
Has not improved, and so the new trendsetters
Have pushed a minor problem to a crisis
With Postal services hiked up in prices.
 A better cause? Who knows? For what it’s worth— (70)
Executives who gain increasing girth,
And make decisions only with concern
For them—Themselves! And let the others burn!
 It comes as inefficiency in part,
Or workers underpaid who have less heart.
The feelings is computers are the dream,
And letters need to take one for the team.
Yet letters, every letter will be needed—
Since messages and gossip must be heeded.
 So many things that always take our hours, (80)
In wasting time, enthusiasm sours.
Our whole demeanor and our sense of reason
Goes out the window each and every season.
We need to pause and put aside some time
And let our feelings flow, perhaps in rime.
A freedom, like the wind through swaying trees—
With practice, writing letters comes with ease.
When serious or even if lighthearted,
All leads to letter writing. — Let’s get started!
 We say we haven’t time. It isn’t true, (90)
Pretending there are other things to do,
But if we could be honest with ourselves—
There’s plenty other things to put on shelves,
Like watching Netflix, Paramount or Stan,
As many documentaries as you can,
And stare in adulation at a screen,
The biggest and the best you’ve ever seen.
 Lo! Have you wondered what you’d say,
To friends when things don’t change from day to day?
You think it dull and boring at the least— (100)
The interest level’s low, the urge decreased
For putting pen to paper. Why dismiss
The chance of writing? Crawl from that abyss
Of spent procrastination. What’s to lose?
A witty letter, something to amuse
A friend or lover. That’s for you to choose!