A Longhand Lament

An original poem by Chrome Dome Mike Kimbro

Consider reading along to my Spoken Verse Performance.

VERSE 1

I received, in the mail, a thank you note.

From a friend who was, at the time, quite remote,

Praising my suggested stops for her trip.

Inside I was gladdened, by the gracious gesture.

But at the same time saddened, that I'd never best her.

In the area of perfect penmanship.

VERSE 2

She was to pen and paper, dare I say,

What brush and canvas were to Claude Monet.

Her scribble demonstrated that level of grace.

But practicing curly-q's should be a crime.

Look, who the hell has got that kind of time.

OK, maybe me, but I'm a special case.

VERSE 3

I recall old Dean Tavlarides.

A priest's kid who must have lived on Wheaties.

In possession of an artful handwriting style.

It was a source of pride for my buddy.

But one has to wonder, how much other study,

Could have proved to be much more worthwhile.

VERSE 4

So much time wasted teaching two techniques,

Better they taught the tongues of Romans or Greeks.

So we could speak of "homeworkis maximus".

That's right, kids have mountains of homework.

When reviewing report cards, only a jerk,

Cares that penmanship received a C plus.

VERSE 5

There are those who believe they know better.

Louts who legislate the love of linked letters.

We must convince them that they back the wrong plan.

My mission here is to free our dependents.

With this, a Declaration of Independence.

From the requirement of learning longhand.

VERSE 6

Like a secret handshake, or special code,

The cursive style, once it gets to be old,

Might be used in ways which are subversive.

Here's a query I pose to the reader,

(As we waste so much time choosing a leader),

Who will be the last President to write in cursive?

VERSE 7

Some out there will accuse me, quite falsely,

Of putting down the art of calligraphy.

In fact, quite the opposite is true.

Artists will be needed to document,

Important stuff, after a gene splicing accident.

Block letters will help civilization pull through.

The End

Copyright © Michael Kimbro 2019.  All rights reserved.

Keywords: Poems about handwriting styles, Cursive poetry.