Dear Time,
Do not get me wrong. This is not a mere lamentation about my ill fortune. Rather, it is an honor to address you and speak to you in this manner, and I scribble down each word with courtesy. Yet it is from a deep grievance that I speak, for I have been tormented, tortured and suppressed by you for too long and for too often. I speak to you in hope of begging forgiveness for whatever I have done and in order to establish a more cordial relationship.
You are the main cause for my hardships. You slip away stealthily when I desperately need you to stop, and fly by when the only thing I require from you is to drag your feet and trudge slowly by. I turn my head, blink my eye and the next thing I notice is you running out. Then it is again a race against you until one of us gives up in exhaustion. Slow down, you’re going too fast. Why do you have to slip slide away so? Wait a second, hold on a moment. It’s not as if I’m expecting you to be at a standstill 24/7.
But then again, why are you so capricious at times? Sometimes I just can’t get used to your whims. When I need more of you, you gallop gaily forth, turn back and wink your mischievous eye; yet when I hope you would speed up and make ordeals come to an end, you come to an abrupt halt and stare at me with a menacing smirk that not only emanates from your crooked lips but also gleam over your spectacles in your frigidly cold eyes. Why do you tease me so? Do you enjoy my pain? Do you not have that hint of humane sympathy to save a suffering person from further pain?
But as I have already, do not misunderstand me as merely grumbling and moaning about your actions. I believe that if you decide to put me to pain, there is a reasonable cause behind it, for I trust in your rationality and cold, steely acumen. Have I done something to offend you? Have I annoyed you so much that you feel completely wasted? Have I defied you too often, not followed the ways of life you have set for people by sleeping when I should have stayed awake and staying awake when I should have slept? I am not entirely certain of what I have done wrong.
Whatever the reason, I beg for forgiveness. I may have bothered or irritated you often but please comprehend that I harbor absolutely no grudge against you whatsoever. You may very well doubt me: I have listed numerous protests in the beginning of this piece that I dedicate to you. However, it is true that I have no feelings of hate towards you. I hope we are restored to a amicable and friendly relationship. I hope it’s not too late. With respect,
Hwee Jun Lee
Wow. Excellently excellent excellence. I told you so in class and highlighted your work on my blog. The prose here is swift, sonorous, and seductive. The flow makes for a breezy read, and this is, perhaps, one of the best things I've read from a student at KMLA. I think you should hold onto this, and I hope to see this kind of writing from you again.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of corrections...almost none. Impeccable. However, I did see these:
"a menacing smirk that not only emanates from your crooked lips, but also GLEAMS over your spectacles in your frigidly cold eyes"
Have I defied you too often, not followed the ways of life you have set for people by sleeping when I should have stayed awake and staying awake when I should have slept?
(Good poetics, and the jarring run-on flow seems intentional. But I think you could smooth it out just a little to have it make sense just a bit more. Even a cleverly placed comma or "..." for a meaningful pause.)
I hope we are restored to AN amicable and friendly relationship.
- "an amicable" has a bit of an awkward alliteration. Perhaps another word?
Great writing Hwee Jun.
Are you sure this is the best font for comments? I can hardly read it.
ReplyDelete