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E - Everyone

A Notebook

by alpacaboss


I have sat on the shelf for far too long,

Which is why my heart leapt when I was held.

I shook with glee and excitement so strong,

For this occasion is unparalleled.

***

My owner ripped off the stifling plastic

And flipped through my fresh, untainted pages.

Their smile showed that they were proud with their pick,

Knowing they will treasure me for ages.

***

My mind drifted to what I would contain.

Will it be musings, songs, and poetry?

Will it have schemes so grand or lists so plain?

Regardless, I awaited each entry.

***

However for me, that was not the case.

I thought I was exempted from this deed.

They placed me in a drawer, a dark place,

Captive again, just after I was freed.

***

Many others around me groaned sadly.

Some were pretty, some unique, some brand new.

“Our owner forgot us all,” they agree.

“Many stay here. Those that are used are few.”

***

My leaves sunk in despair. This is not fair!

The others agreed, joining my silent screams.

Why can’t we be filled with such tales to bear,

Full of songs and poems, nightmares and dreams?

***

Dejectedly, I sank and waited for

My owner who’d one day hold me again.

Is it wrong to demand I deserve more

Cause I know the potential I contain?


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29 Reviews

Points: 405
Reviews: 29

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Sun Oct 01, 2023 4:41 pm
spottedpebble wrote a review...



I'll say it first thing: this poem makes me feel guilty about all my notebooks sitting in drawers right now.

How I have interpreted this poem:
Someone got a new notebook. When they opened the notebook, they flipped through the blank pages and thought about all the possibilities this notebook held. Then the owner placed the notebook in a drawer and forgot about it. This has happened many times before, so the drawer is filled to the brim with unused notebooks. The notebooks still sit there, awaiting the day their owner takes them all out and fills them with amazing things. The notebooks dream of the days when they will be used and loved and treasured. Most of the notebooks have lost hope that they will ever be used. They believe their owner has forgotten about them and will never remember that they are sitting in that drawer. One notebook in particular, the narrator of the story, is remembering the times when it was new and its owner eagerly looked through its pages. This notebook wants something more and still has a hope that it will be used again for wonderful things.

In a way, I think this story is about not losing hope, as well as not forgetting about things that might have a greater purpose than just sitting on a shelf. ;)

One thing that throws me off:
At first you say

I have sat on the shelf for far too long


which implies that the notebook is currently sitting on the shelf. But the rest of the poem is in past tense, where the notebook is sitting in a drawer reminiscing about when it was picked out. If you wanted the whole thing to be in the past tense to make more sense, you could say I had sat on the shelf for far too long. Also the notebook says

Will it be musings, songs, and poetry?

Will it have schemes so grand or lists so plain?


I think it should say would it instead of will it, since the notebook is remembering fantasizing about what its owner might write on its pages.

Connecting this poem to my own life:
Like I mentioned at the beginning of this review, I have lots of notebooks sitting in drawers waiting to be used. Many of them are old school notebooks that I kept because they still had lots of blank pages in the back. Sadly, I have almost never used those blank pages. I do however, have a drawer full of empty notebooks. They have been sitting there for months, the longest ones having sat there for three years. I do have a plan for each and every single one of these notebooks, though they don't know it yet. I will fill them with rough drafts for novels and novellas.

Message to the notebooks:
Don't lose hope, little notebooks! Maybe your owner is like me and is just waiting for the right story to arrive. I guarantee, even if your owner has forgotten about you, no one will forsake you! Someday someone will find you and use you.

All in all, this is a very clever, well organized and well thought out poem in a new perspective. It's original and has a nice flow. I applaud you on this literary work.
*clapping*

:)




alpacaboss says...


Thank you for your review! The inspiration of this was similar to your first statement but it can also be used for deeper meanings (which is up to the audience to decide :)) Have a nice day!



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Points: 125
Reviews: 1

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Sun Oct 01, 2023 3:06 am
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justaServant wrote a review...



Sorry if this is a short(ish) review. (it's also my first review on the website so please forgive me if I'm not the best at it)

Firstly, this is a unique perspective to be looking from. I initially thought you were going to write about how this notebook was used for sad, dark, or depressing thoughts and emotions, sort of like a diary. But, what a joy it would have been for that poor notebook to at least have been given a purpose no matter how dreary. It's actually really sad to think about how often notebooks get abandoned. (I have first hand experience of this sadly) This is gonna be a quick personal interpretation of your poem. Potentially the notebook could mirror the life of someone who just couldn't fulfill their own life's desires or purposes. It could resemble someone who, time after time, made promises, goals, and objectives, only to forget about them in the wisp of life. As much as this poem comes from the perspective of the notebook, we can observe the life of the person responsible for abandoning the notebook. How many other times have they done this. This person might be entranced by the idea of one day filling out this notebook, only to forget, or perhaps only to lose hope in their dream of doing so.
I think this poem is very interesting, unique, and fun. It's cool to observe how much we can grasp of the persons life just from witnessing the perspective of such a lonesome notebook.
Great poem. Sorry again if this wasn't the best review. I did thoroughly enjoy reading your poem.




alpacaboss says...


First of all, welcome to YWS! I'm honored for my work to be your first review. I'm quite glad to see your take on it. This poem can be taken at face value, although it has many interpretations if one thinks there's a underlying deeper meaning behind it (ofc I won't elaborate if there is one I'll leave that up to the reader's mind :D) Thank you for your review! I really appreciate it :)




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