Of Machines and Men
2024 #200
I have no goals for 2024
Ahh, you recoil
I already feel it,
as I pen these words
Why?
Does that thought offend you?
Perhaps you think
Without goals
A seeping void,
Production’s maw,
Opens its jaws
Without “x” stories
Or “y” words
Every day
What are you doing?
Do you even care?
How can you climb the ladder?
If you don’t monitor
Down to the read?
Down to the keystroke?
Well,
This notion, I reject.
I’m no algorithm.
I’m no bot.
Today, I rebel
Today, I throw my goals out the window
I throw my plans in the bin
Today, I will sip my coffee
I will read my book
I will walk my dog
I will admire, lovingly,
The resilience of the evergreens
As the snow outside recedes
Their moment of reprieve,
Before the winds of winter howl again.
Today, I will find peace
In the spaces in between
each note, and ping, and buzzing ring.
Tomorrow,
I’ll pick up my pen,
(should the mood strike)
Tomorrow,
I’ll care about the ladder
Tomorrow perhaps,
I’ll adhere methodology
To algorithms
To metrics
To a mechanical personality
But today,
I choose my whimsicality
Today,
I choose my humanity.
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Seeing as I need to hit a word threshold to submit this to the challenge, I will now ramble here. You have made this bed, Vocal, and now a poor moderator must sit through this dissertation. I pity thee.
I thought about not doing this, as, in many ways, it goes against the spirit of the piece (but so do word counts, so...think on that Vocal).
For all of you who have really solid goals for this year, and there are a lot of you, know I will be cheering you on! I have tried in the past, and it always makes writing feel like a job for me. I spend enough energy on the day job. I do not want to get done working one job to work another. Sure, maybe it is my dream job to sit and write novels full-time, but right now, it is my escape. Every time it tip-toes into the chore realm, I feel my creativity shoot out the window. Maybe the thought of writing is more intoxicating to me than actually putting words on paper, and maybe there is nothing wrong with that. Is it any different than retreating into a new book from our favorite author? I'm not sure, and I promised you rambling. You can't say I don't pay off my promises. With that wonderfully terrible double negative, I'll go back to watching the grass grow. Good luck to everyone in 2024! I hope to read many more top stories about one and all crushing their goals.
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A/N
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About the Creator
Matthew Fromm
Full-time nerd, history enthusiast, and proprietor of random knowledge. The best way to find your perfect story is to make it yourself.
Here there be dragons, and knights, and castles, and quests for entities not wished to be found.
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Final Call
She flings her arms around my neck and squeezes me like she’s never going to let me go. My head spins as her lips brush against my cheek. She must be able to feel my heart thumping in my chest. I shuffle backwards and ram my hands into my coat pockets, watching her reach down and heave the rucksack across her shoulders.
By Caroline Cravena day ago in Fiction
Comments (22)
Word counts can be a travesty, but if the resulting piece is poignant enough, and riveting, it's easier to swallow. Congrats on a great piece : )
Matthew, your commitment to finding peace "In the spaces between / each note, and ping, and buzzing ring" conjures in me this disturbance I've lately been feeling toward the intersection of art and social media. I'm sensing this emerging principle that if we want to be writers, we need to produce constantly and post often. If we want writing to one day be our job, we need to treat it like a side hustle now. Writers need to write. But I'd personally rather produce quality pieces out of time and careful contemplation. I'd rather continue to engage in the practices -- stillness, silent walks, reading, thinking, conversations, noticing finite details -- that nourish the writing mind. To me, that's writing every day, even if it's not putting pen to page. Let's not let the swiftness of social media poison the art that we're trying to make. Thank you for this. Congratulations also on earning a runner-up!
Thank you for the tip whoever that was!
You thumbed your nose at the beast, and he gave you a medal for it! Congrats! I tried this for the new year resolution challenge a few years back, and fell flat on my arrrr... bottom! 😁
💯👌👌👌Matthew
👏👏👏 The Rebel!!! You stood your ground, and it paid off. Many congrats to you, Matt!
Congrats Matthew! Excellent poem and I liked how you mentioned having something feel like a job crushes creativity! 😊
Wooohooooo congratulations on your win! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
So glad this was a winner, this was my favourite.
Enjoyed the poem and the ramblings! Congrats!
Love that you placed! Congrats!
Congratulations on placing, Matthew!! I love this take on the challenge. This bit was so cool: "Tomorrow perhaps, I’ll adhere methodology To algorithms To metrics To a mechanical personality But today, I choose my whimsicality Today, I choose my humanity." I often find it difficult to balance the feeling of writing as a challenge and writing as a chore; it should be challenging to grow in new writing skills, but if it feels like a chore...that's different. Sometimes the latter bleeds back into the former, and I lose the ability to distinguish it. Then I take a break, reorient what I'm doing, and I find the fun in the challenge again. You're right: creativity dwindles down to nothing when it becomes an obligation. And you're not a bot! I only want to read pieces that contain that joy anyway. You can tell when it's mechanized.
Love the honesty and the refusal to let something creative become a “must-do”, especially with all the time we spend on our screens already. The bit about today is a great way of looking at it- one at a time!
This is great. I loved it. I also agree, when it starts to feel like a job, my inspiration calls in sick.
Amazing. I loved it
Absolutely fucking love this.
Great work!
Bravo! Loved it.
Bold iconoclasm is always admirable.
All my yes. I feel this. Productions maw, opens its jaw. Nicely encapsulates.
An escape sounds good to me!!! Well done!!!💕❤️❤️
loved it - especially when you speak of having to ramble on.....my problem too - how do I add more words to this??