Ribbons

So, I was asked what a typewriter ribbon does.  Of course I gave the simple technical answer about the medium for transferring ink to a page, but it really got me thinking.  What really is a ribbon?

In a way—in a far-fetched, metaphorical way—a ribbon is akin to a soul.  It’s a medium people use to express their ideas.  Not just those, but their sentiments, their intellect, and all these are recorded through a silk ribbon soaked in ink.  Sometimes one feels that the ribbon will go on forever, pouring out words at their command, but then it unwinds completely, what was once happening, has now ceased.

A life only stretches so far, only carries...only gives, so much.  And when that ribbon runs dry, and all those ideas have been committed to a page, it’s purpose has been fulfilled.  When one has given all they’ve got, when one has poured themselves out completely, when one can no longer hold on, they have fulfilled their purpose.  The end of the spool falls away.

Perhaps now, it doesn’t seem so far-fetched.  But maybe that’s just me.  A hapless writer.