"I have owed you this letter for a very long time-but my fingers have avoided the pencil as though it were an old and poisoned tool"

This quote by John Steinbeck speaks with the problem of expressing oneself through writing. The speaker acknowledges that they have owed someone a letter for a long time, but their fingers have actually hesitated to get a pencil and write it. This suggests that the speaker has actually been having a hard time to find the ideal words to reveal their ideas and sensations. The metaphor of the pencil being an old and poisoned tool suggests that the speaker hesitates of the effects of composing the letter, as if the words themselves might be poisonous. This quote speaks to the power of words and the problem of expressing oneself through writing. It is a suggestion that often it can be hard to put our thoughts and sensations into words, but that it is necessary to try.