24 May 2009

An unfinished expression

He entered the room and walked towards the white desk which stood against the south wall. The desk was covered with a thin layer of dust. Small puffs of it rose as he pulled out the chair and sat down. It had been a while since he last sat at his desk.

He opened the drawer on his right and took out a thin pile of papers. He rested his back and fingered through the papers one after another. His eyebrows rose and fell a few times as he browsed through the old pieces of his unfinished personal expressions and ramblings. Once or twice, little smiles appeared on his face and a couple of times, he shook his head and crumpled the pieces he was reading before throwing them into the wastebasket beside the desk.

He finished glancing at the last piece and placed them all back inside the drawer. He looked at the digital clock on his table and paused for a moment. Time had always been a hurdle for him to overcome.

Feeling an impulse to write, he took out a fresh piece of paper and started to pen down some lines of words, pausing from time to time in thought. Occasionally, thin wrinkles creased his forehead as he tried to find the suitable words for his sentences.

Being an outsider to the language he used to express his thoughts, he faces difficulty in finding the exact or at least the correct words to reflect his meanings and intentions accurately. He often struggled to find the suitable words to articulate what he felt. Whenever he wrote, the dictionary became his best companion that supplemented his poor vocabulary and grammar.

Upon writing a number of sentences, he gained a little momentum and his thoughts spilled out faster onto the paper. His sentiments flowed freely and his emotions vented out.

He was drowning in the pleasure of expressing himself when suddenly a voice at the door distracted his concentration. He put down his pen and looked at the clock. Once again, time had the upper hand. He rested his back, took a deep breath and pulled out the drawer on his right. Another piece of his unfinished expression was left there to rot.

17 comments:

  1. "Once again, time had the upper hand..."

    - as always, all the time. This post of yours made me contemplate about the essence of freedom: its reality- or its extent of "being free' in the real sense of the word. Where does it start and where does it end, really?

    With your post, I have to say that like everything else in this world- limitations are ever-present, and there would always be something destined to have the "upper hand".

    I love reading your musings Zunnur. Thank you for sharing, :-)

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  2. Nothing is really unfinished nor truly finished in this world anyway. Better a bit of expression than nothing at all!

    If that's your paper in the picture, I love your penmanship.

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  3. Hi Zunnur,

    How are you? It was so nice to see you again at my blog, I had to come over here to check if you had a new musing. Indeed, it's been a while, my friend.

    I have lots of that — unfinished stories, essays, etc. They're in my ongoing folder, many of them had been rotting for years; some, new additions. The file keep piling up, sadly.

    Some of them had been caused by time constrait; others, by other factors like my creativity running out, haha! It happens sometimes, when the idea doesn't stay clear in my mind long enough for me to fully capture it on paper.

    Ah, time. For some reason, many of us find time to be the enemy, our greatest limiting factor. But time could be a great friend, if we manage to have it on our side.

    Lucky are those who have successfully made time their friend.

    ~Sherma

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  4. Hello my dear friend. Thank you for dropping by, I am doing okay ... still a bit busy with work and I hope to write something soon.

    I love your post it gives me a glimpse of who you are inside :) thank you for sharing. Take care my friend.

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  5. oh zunnar, so good to read your words.
    true, time is a cruel reminder and does have the upper hand...but oh the beauty to be lost doing the things we love....that is what a true life is comprised of.....

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  6. I was thinking the same thing as Zhu. If that's your writing, your penmanship is beautiful.

    I loved the way you wrote this, as always. It's great to see you back again.

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  7. Hi Zunnur,
    But it's kind of cool when you crack up a piece of writing, He!He!He!Since time is the one immaterial object which we cannot influence--neither speed up nor slow down, add to nor diminish--it is an imponderably valuable gift.".
    Nice to see you again at my blog
    Thanks for the vist :)

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  8. Time does work against creativity. Sometimes, if you do not finish the track that you are on, you will never get on that same track again. If I'm heavily involved in something creative, I try not to leave it unless it is an absolute must.

    ~ Kristi

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  9. Don't you just hate it how there's so little time when there is so much to do?

    Sometimes having to sneak in some writing time to your already busy life is a bit like climbing your own personal Everest.

    I wish I could write more often, and I wish the same for you.

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  10. I know that I've said this many times, but you're such a skilled writer and I love the concept of your blog. Especially in the sense that you make time out of your busy day to do something that you love, which in this case is obviously writing.

    Beautifully written, keep up the good work!
    -M.

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  11. what a beautiful, sensitive observation:) and an endless quest for the love of freedom and passion... keep the juice flowing!

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  12. hi zunnur...
    its a long time not hear about u...

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  13. Salam zunnur, thanks 4 dropping by at my blog. good to hear from you. i'm doing ok. hope u r doing ok as well. trying hard to find time to update my blog. it's true that sometimes we already have something to write but couldnt find the exact words to express it all. take care may Allah bless.

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  14. Hi friend, we have both been out of the bloggerville long enough. How are you? Hope to hear from you soon.

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  15. i without a doubt adore all your writing style, very exciting.
    don't quit and also keep posting as it simply well worth to look through it,
    excited to look over a whole lot more of your stories, have a great day ;)

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  16. You have a really cool way of writing things down! It captures you and keeps your attention till the last sentence! I like it!!

    ReplyDelete

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