His Handwriting Was Really Cool

I wonder why you thought
my handwriting was really cool.
You were the first to say so.
I’ve always thought it was a dog.
As it’s grown older it’s grown wilder.
I can’t keep a leash on it.
It runs all over the page,
leaving tracks and droppings everywhere.

I tried to train him once.
I dotted my i’s and crossed my t's.
I curved my capital cee in a graceful arc.
But my legible letters gave little love.
The trained lines fenced in all his joy.
He wanted to run free.

What was it you saw in my scrawl?
Was there something wild in those lines?
Perhaps you saw your own dog running free,
leaving the marks of your life on every page.


—Eric Nelson