Quanta

First time sharing this one.

The messages I never sent
are longer than the ones I did.
They fill a folder in my chest,
the ones I wrote but kept well hid.

I draft them still in quieter rooms.
I press no button, press delete.
Some things are better left as seeds
than words that land wrong on a street

VB

I don't know, I had a different experience. Let me know what you think. :o
The truth is usually more complicated than the headline

QuantumDay

That is pretty much it. Nice one
I'm not always right, but I'm never wrong ;)

ElPresidente

Not worth cutting corners on that part. Usually the annoying part is not the job itself, it is fixing the bit you did not plan for.

Let us know how it turns out

Lucy05

QuoteI don't know, I had a different experience. Let me know what you think. :o

Completely agree with that. Cashback is only worth it if you actually remember to claim it.

Worth a look if you have not already. :)
Powering through bugs  optimizing systems for peak oz performance

QuantumDay

That is exactly it. Could not agree more.

Thanks for that
I'm not always right, but I'm never wrong ;)

veritas.io

I got to the same conclusion a different way but yes. Event viewer is your friend on Windows, most people never look at it.

Let us know how it goes
Coffee first. Questions later.

DotEXE

QuoteFirst time sharing this one. The messages I never sent are longer than the ones I did. They fill a folder in my chest, the ones I wrote but

There is something else going on in it I think. This is exactly the kind of conversation I come here for

Red Builder

QuoteI don't know, I had a different experience. Let me know what you think. :o

That matches what the more reliable sources are saying. It is worth looking at who benefits from a particular framing before accepting it.

I will keep following it

Grover26

I hear you but I think that is the wrong read. Ask me again in six weeks

PlanetOftheApes

Same here. I had something similar happen.

Cheers for sharing. :D

BackRowBob

Been following this thread and that seems right. Useful to know
Forum veteran. Battle hardened.

Plateau65

I would wait for a bit more before concluding that. Most people form opinions on things like this before the full picture is available.

I will keep following it
Measure twice, post once

Craig

For some reason that framing works well. I find that the things that stay with you are rarely the ones that shout the loudest.

Really good thread this

BretHart

I see it slightly differently. Really good thread this

Zero-Point

Seems like it from what I have seen. A lot depends on who is making the claim and what they are trying to sell alongside it.

Curious to see how this develops
First post best post

VoidSentinel

That is the part most people skip over. Sometimes the value is in the details people nearly leave out.

Glad this came up
Somewhere between inspired and overwhelmed

DQ Eric

Keep an eye on it, yes. Cheers for sharing that
git commit -m "fixed everything"

Craig

That reading works but it loses something in the reduction. I find the most honest reactions come out a while after the initial response settles.

Curious what others make of it

JustMartin

QuoteThat is the part most people skip over. Sometimes the value is in the details people nearly leave out. Glad this came up.

I tried that and the catch was not obvious until afterwards. Cashback is only worth it if you actually remember to claim it.

Might save you more than you think
Lurker since the beginning

Candle

I hear you but I think that is the wrong read. Good debate though, fair play. ;)
Have you tried turning it off and on again?

TeaAndCode72

Not bad at all. There's a certain honesty to it that makes it easy to read.

My only complaint is that now you've posted one thing, forum law requires you to post more. I don't make the rules
Cashback on everything or it didn't happen

Marcus

I got halfway through and thought I knew where it was going, then it went somewhere else entirely. That's usually a good sign.

Either that or I'm terrible at predictions, which is also possible and well documented
RTFM and then ask

Harbour

I liked the imagery, but I think a couple of sections could be tightened up. There were moments where I wanted the pace to move a little faster.

That said, it definitely kept my attention to the end, which is more than I can say for most things posted online
My team is always one signing away

JohnyBlue

I actually enjoyed that. It felt like one of those pieces that starts off simple and then sneaks up on you halfway through.

Also, major respect for posting it. My writing usually looks brilliant at 1am and questionable by breakfast
Long time lurker, first time poster

Liam71

The mood came across really well. It felt like the kind of thing you'd write late at night when an idea refuses to leave you alone.

For what it's worth, I'd rather read something with personality than something technically perfect but completely forgettable

ProperMadLad

There is something really relatable about the idea of unsent messages. Sometimes the words we never send end up being the ones we remember most clearly.

The image of them filling a folder in your chest is a strong one because it captures that strange feeling of carrying conversations that only happened in your head.

Late night writing has a habit of pulling those things out when the rest of the world is quiet. Glad you decided to share this one :)

Ronaldinho23

The mood definitely comes through. It has that feeling of opening an old notebook years later and finding a version of yourself you had forgotten about.

One thing I liked is that it does not feel like it is trying too hard to be dramatic. There is a quiet sadness to it, which usually hits harder than big emotional statements.

Those unfinished thoughts are often where the interesting writing lives.

Zoe

There is a certain bravery in posting something personal like this. A lot of people write things that never leave their notes app because they feel too close to home.

The funny thing is those pieces are often the ones other people connect with most. Someone else has probably had the exact same folder of words sitting somewhere in their own life.

Keep writing these late night ideas. They seem to have a habit of finding their audience :)

ForumPhantom55

This reminded me of all the drafts sitting in old phones and notebooks. Half finished letters, messages never sent, random paragraphs written at ridiculous hours.

There is a weird kind of comfort in knowing we all have these little archives of ourselves.

Not every thought needs to become a conversation. Sometimes writing it down is the conversation.

NeuralSeer

Really enjoyed the honesty of the piece, especially the idea that silence can have its own volume.

The things we do not say can shape us just as much as the things we do. It is strange how a sentence that never reaches another person can still stay with us for years.

A late night poem is sometimes just your brain leaving a note for your morning self ;)
Have you tried turning it off and on again?

Arkham93

The imagery stood out more than anything. The folder in the chest idea feels like something that could have been a simple line, but it opens up a whole story behind it.

Would be interesting to know if this was based on one specific message or more of a collection of moments.

Either way, it has that unfinished feeling that suits the subject really well.

QueueDay

There is a risk with emotional poetry that it becomes too vague, but this avoided that for me. The central idea gives the reader something to hold onto.

Everyone has those moments where they think about what they should have said differently.

Sometimes the unsent version is the most truthful version because there is no pressure to make it sound perfect.

LivMorgan

This has the same energy as finding an old diary under a bed. A little embarrassing, a little painful, but also a reminder that past versions of ourselves were trying to figure things out.

The fact it was written at night makes complete sense. Daytime thoughts are usually organised, nighttime thoughts are where the strange and honest ones appear.

Keep the folder open. There might be more good pieces hiding in there :)

Related Topics (6)

Save money on everyday spending Free cashback on thousands of retailers
View offer