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September 13, 2005
Ode to a letter
I have a letter sitting on my desk waiting to be sent. It is in a thin, white envelope with an address and a return address written across it. A small, rectangular stamp is placed in the upper, right-hand corner.
When I pick the envelope up and tip it from side to side, the letter inside is like an hour glass, falling from one side to the other slowly. It is nice and smooth and sealed tightly. The letter is ready to go on its way.
This envelope will see so much more than one person can probably ever see. It will leave my desk and my home and travel to many places all within a matter of days. It will meet a few different post men or women, fall in a few different slots or bins, and be carried away and carefully placed in a mailbox. Then this letter will enter another world, someone else's house. Although this letter can not smell, hear, taste, or see, it will in a way hear, taste, smell, and see more things than most people ever will.
The letter smells like blue ink, the ink that was pressed so firmly against the white, lined paper that was written on by it. It doesn't have a distinct smell, just one of pen. The envelope has so many different smells that you could never possibly name them all because it has been so many places.
The letter is sparkly from the ink and looks pretty. However, over time the ink will soon fade and take age. But it will still be beautiful because of the words written on the paper.
Posted by lcisnelson at September 13, 2005 10:31 PM
Comments
I really can relate to this because I like to write letters-- take my time, make the handwriting perfect, use nice stationary and find the best stamps. Letters are so personal compared to emails so I enjoyed your Ode.
Posted by: Ariel at September 14, 2005 08:57 PM
I really enjoyed this ode... the way it was written, the subject, and the points you decided to touch upon, and did so very elegantly. I too, am a fan of the classic letter. You should check out what I did my ode on ... a pen! I'd say they go together! (: Nice work!
Posted by: Allie at September 15, 2005 01:07 AM
Writing your ode to a letter is a really great idea. I've wondered before how many hands (or machine hands) a letter will pass through before it reaches its destination, especially if it is going somewhere far like India, where I have a friend living and I just sent her a package. You didn't need to mention the destination or the reciever to convey your point which I thought was an excellent choice. Great job!
Posted by: Freya at September 15, 2005 02:28 PM
Rachel, i really liked your ode, especially the part about how the letter has been to so many places, probably more than we will ever see. I also thought the last paragaph about the letter being beautiful because of the words on the page was really thoughtful...so great job!
Posted by: Katie at September 16, 2005 10:21 AM