“White Quill Pen” by Lee Ann Eckhardt Smith
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “White Quill Pen” by Lee Ann Eckhardt Smith, part of the League’s Fresh Voices program.
White Quill Pen
By Lee Ann Eckhardt Smith
I wanted to write my life
large
on the face of the world
its impact crater-deep, permanent as stone.
I was given a white quill pen
fragile
as the songbird that lost it
and I flung it away.
I did not realize
until
years after fruitless chiseling:
that frail feather held indelible ink.
Copyright © Lee Ann Eckhardt Smith
Lee Ann Eckhardt Smith is an award-winning poet, the author of two non-fiction history books, freelance writer of magazine articles, and a photographer. She has worked as a writing coach and taught workshops on how to write family history and memoir. She features poetry, photography and other writing on her website, leeanneckhardtsmith.com.
Fresh Voices is a publication and workshop program created by and for the League’s associate members.
Subscribe to Poetry Pause, or support Poetry Pause with a donation today!