We can write on, write up,
write down, write off, write out:
the prepositions point us
in all directions.
The dictionary gives us this:
“He writes down to the public,”
and we see him in a high tower,
tweeting golden tweets. Or this:
“If interested, please write in for details,”
and yet we learn the site
isn’t taking comments anymore.
The antonyms, though – destroy, ignore,
ruin, stop – give us reasons
to continue trying, to keep
scratching graphite and ink onto
dark cave walls, to make whatever
wild, cryptic marks we can.
Vivian Wagner lives in New Concord, Ohio, where she’s an associate professor of English at Muskingum University. She’s the author of Fiddle: One Woman, Four Strings, and 8,000 Miles of Music (Citadel/Kensington), The Village (Aldrich Press/Kelsay Books), and Curiosities (Unsolicited Press).
Eunoia Review 