Desktop…
Running out of ink
Desktop
Print facts
Fax prints
~
Scan to email
Emailing scans
~
Double-sided paper
One-sided truth
~
Running out of ink
Ink runs out of me
~
Shots fired from the Canon…
a lonely pen bleeds
wishing it were already
dry
~
Behind the poem: Sometimes a poem begins with nothing more than a list of ordinary words. Printers. Fax machines. Ink. Paper. I wanted to see how far office language could stretch before it stopped sounding like equipment and started sounding like a person. In the space between “Double-sided paper” and “One-sided truth,” that’s where the poem really lives for me.
We all have moments when we feel like another cartridge to replace, another signature to provide, another page to feed through the machine. In the end, this isn’t really a poem about a desktop. It’s about the quiet cost of giving so much of yourself that you begin hoping there’s nothing left to pour out.
~
My memoir feature for the July 2026 issue of Exceptional Parent Magazine is live!!! Check it out here!
That’s all from me — Chris B.
I love the behind the scenes description. Poetry isn't historically my genre, so I love the back stage pass!
Chris, I feel like this is the hinge of your poem:
"Double-sided paper
One-sided truth"
It's where the emotional meaning takes a turn for me. Like an "aha" moment.
This is one of my favorites that you've shared. So so powerful.