It Was One of Those Days

A poem about the Linotype from the book “In the Beginning was The Word” by David Andrus.

It was one of those days
the machine began to act up,
th troubl somwhr in
th distributor mchanism,
nd I only begn to notice it
when my proofs cme bck
nd the proofreder’s red ink
ran frm my type like blod
frm a slaughtered pg,
lke paint frm Van Ggh’s
Hed of A Womn,
and the sharp, terrile lines
wounded me at my machin,
so that siting a the keord
I flt like
a World War II fighter plot
going down with hi craft,
in front f me th burning lead
scummd ovr with dust nd
dross, al of it trembling
bcuse of a slightly-loos
driv blt, and th day
ending badly when the elevatr
jammed and a spurt f lead
ejaculated int the air and
came down on my head lik
hot hot rain,
nd now as I get oldr
and baldr, the smll burn scars
becme mor and mor visible,
remindng me of tht day
th machine began to act up
and finlly hurt me
hurt m bdly

©2001 David Andrus

Did you enjoy this poem? If so, you may be interested to know that it appears in “Printers’ Tales” available as a paperback or ebook.

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