"Old-fashioned" by Lauren McBride

Old-fashioned

Storied keys feel left for dead.

Typewriter waits for fingertip tread--

mutely gathering dust instead.

--Lauren McBride

Poet's Notes: I applaud any novelist who has turned out a story on a typewriter without the benefit of cut and paste, find and replace, delete and spell check, to name a few of the functions a computer offers to a writer's advantage.

Editor’s Note:  Taken literally, the poem is a poignant little story about a personified typewriter--cute, but nothing special or really worth publishing.  However, taken metaphorically, the typewriter becomes a symbol for all the things and people left behind by the relentless advance of technology.  I find myself deeply moved by this poem.