History Of The Pen ….. [history Of Writing Instrument(S) And Ink; Semi-True; Almost Long] Poem by Bri Edwards

Moses got the "LAWS" from God (or so some believe) …
when ‘Moe" climbed a hill alone (he had no ‘Eve') .
All ten laws were carved in stone, as I remember,
one for each month of the year (minus March and September) .

God carved the letters, perhaps using His index finger.
Moses took the tablets to ‘the people'; he did not linger …..
to find out if God had ten MORE for him, …..
as he thought the chance of the first TEN being obeyed …was awfully slim.

Back then, people who could write used clay pages.
The words were inscribed while the clay was soft, to last for ages.
It was a bit tedious to try to create a "book", ….
and, to carry one around, ……well, real strength it took.

Then someone smart, who really liked to read,
and who also coveted money [he had a bit of greed] ….
started using a hollow plant stem to write on bark (thin) .
He made and sold "stems"; the history of "the pen" did then begin.

At first "stems" were quite simply tubes with one angled "tip",
dipped in liquid derived from snails found on the hull of a ship.
Early "stem-users" sometimes complained of the liquid's stink,
causing the liquid to eventually be called just plain "ink".

Of course the pages of ‘thin bark' gave way in time …to papyrus,
which evolved into "paper", a product I find most desirous.
[I'm writing on paper now, …..as I sit in a big chair,
BUT I'm getting ahead of myself. More of pens, I'll now share.]

Hollow plant "stems" were light, cheap, and easy to make,
but they didn't last long, for goodness sake!
This was good for the "stem-maker", because he sold even more,
but, in the middle of writing, WHO wants to go ….to the "stem" store?

Then someone ‘smarter' (who ran a large poultry farm) ….
found that goose quills, angle-cut, worked like a charm.
They, too, were light and easy to make, but NOT so …..cheap.
After all, there IS a limit to how many geese a farm can keep.
Besides, you had to catch the geese, unless quills fell out.
BUT "quill-stems" lasted longer, and their use spread ……
throughout ……
the area.


For centuries "stems" were made from feathers, and SOME from plants.
["Ink" evolved, with many substances tried, including juice from ants.]
Then long, LONG after Moses had died, and printing had begun …….
[Gutenberg ‘printed' the first book (a Bible) , I think with his son] ……
people whose minds could far out surpass mine thought "metal"?
You see, geese still ‘worked', but fewer were now raised for spit or kettle.
And it wouldn't be cost-efficient to raise geese just for "The Pen".
So, a metal ‘point' was put on a wooden handle; I know not when.

[I guess I didn't explain how a "stem" started to be called a "pen", ..
and, actually, I don't really know how it started, by whom, or when.
BUT I have guesses: A sign maker misread "stems' and wrote "pens"; someone was inept!
OR: A goose farmer renamed "stems", replacing "stems" with "pens", which is where geese were kept.]


============================================


Ink wells, ink cartridges and "refills"; metal, plastic. What's next?
New technology over the future of "pens" does now linger.
Perhaps YOU, too, will someday write with …..YOUR index finger?

(August 20, 2015)