What I Wish I had Written

I played an interesting game the other night with some friends where each of us had to name a book that possessed certain qualities for each of us. It was one of those list exercises that I find irresistible. We had to pick a book that changed the way we think, a book that we would want on a desert island, a book we wished we had written, etc. The primary thing I learned during the game was that I need to read more.

I also learned that when I tried to come up with "what I wished I had written," the answer wasn't a book. It was a poem by Stephen Crane.

A man said to the universe:
"Sir I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."

From experience I know that the most difficult thing in the world is to say everything you want to say concisely. But this poem does it. I've never seen the feeling of one person's general insignificance so tightly and neatly packaged. Anytime I begin to sulk about my problems, a quick remembrance of this poem makes me realize that none of it is worth the worry.