In praise of typos

I wrote this poem this week and read it a few days ago at a book launch for a friend, many people came up afterwards and said they were glad somebody was finally writing about typos. I hope you enjoy it!

in almost every one of my publications

there’s a typo somewhere

no matter the editors or the caliber of the press

or how many times I reread the pages until my eyes burn

like grains of sand in a suitcase, I can never get them all out

but perhaps the typo is not just a mistake

perhaps there is a reason why I can’t make something perfect

“nothing but God is perfect”

I remember hearing at some point somewhere

and when I google this phrase

I am reminded of an ancient practice done by master quilters

to include an imperfect stitch in each piece

to remember that to be human is to be imperfect

that to have an error, in fact

makes the perfection of everything else shine

something made us and look at how flawed we are

perhaps we are the typo upon the otherwise flawless quilt that is world

perhaps in the error that we are

we were made to reflect how perfect all else is

and in this somehow

we are an important part of perfection, too

here’s to our precious stumblings

our errors

our grace

Alexander

This week beyond the paywall, a discussion of and a prompt around great enthusiasms, great devotions, and the error and shortcomings that effort requires.