Writing Practice

One evening she copied notes
for an assignment without really understanding 
why it mattered. The professor said there was 
a difference between a paraphrase and a precis: 
one sharpened your mind, the other could dull it. 
And so she practiced sharpening, hoping to produce 
a brght graphite point out of the small heap of curls 
and wood shavings, anticipating the feel of the first 
stroke laid on paper, the letters vining into words 
into sentences into thoughts that could carry 
their weight across the page and to the reader 
that might come upon them. Perhaps fictions 
learned as lessons last the longest. Perhaps a story
is remembered best if someone writes it down.