The odd thing is that Zodiac wrote the poem in his natural style and then wrote the Bates letters with altered writing. If he was worried about his writing being identified, why did then revert back to the natural style for his Z letters? I wonder if he knew that the poem had been discovered. I know that the knowledge of the poem was made available to the public before the "Zodiac riverside connection", but I don’t know if it was known before the Bates letters were sent.

I don’t think zodiac wrote the poem intending for it to be found, so no need to disguise his writing, the letters on the other hand are a different story

That is what makes all of this so questionable, imo.

DID Zodiac use his natural writing style in his later letters? Would you do that if you were asking them to be published? THAT makes no sense to me.

If it wasn’t his natural writing style, it makes it coincidence (in my unprofessional opinion ) the writing looks similar.

I think that z could have disguised his writing to some extent maybe by slanting the paper while writing,etc

When did it become public knowledge that handwriting experts were part of the Z investigation? That’s something I’ve wondered about.

Anyway, let’s assume Z wrote the desktop poem. Let’s further assume that it wasn’t intended as a communication of the kind he became notorious for later. Z wrote a poem on a desktop – a poem that may or may not be directly linked to the Bates murder. Doesn’t actually matter whether it’s directly related once we assume that Z is the author – the point is that the poem isn’t one of his "clews" and was never meant for "publication".

If this is true it seems fair to assume that the writing style, in so far as that can be determined, should be his natural one – he wasn’t trying to cover his tracks at the time. It also, of course, says a great deal about Z. If he is the author, and the above assumptions are correct, the link between him and that library must be very close and specific. He must have been a student or someone who worked at the library – or at least something along those lines.

Norse, good point. There is a thread here someplace in which Traveller1st does some excellent side by side comparisons between zodiac letters and the desktop, and seeing that, erased any lingering doubts for me. For me, now thanks in part to Trav, I have no doubt that Zodiac wrote the poem. To quote Sherwood Morrill, the Bates desktop and Bates letters are "undoubtedly" the work of Z, and I agree. If you can’t find it I will post the link later today

My strictly amateur view on it…..

The writer, a male, is fixating on a girl. The girl, he is fantasizing about, but NOT in a sexual way. He is fantasizing about what it would be like to kill her. Maybe he has already thought about killing her, but didnt have the nerve to do it, but maybe ‘next time’ he will.

I think that Sherwood Morrill was 100% correct. This poem was authored by a younger, male, Zodiac, whilst he was in the RCC campus. I think this dark twisted poetry, was a sign of things to come in his future.

I respect your opinion, morf. I’m curious though how you interpret two aspects of the poem from this perspective. I’m not trying to debate the point, just to better understand it from your perspective and those who share the opinion. I do think the Desk poem is important in one aspect. If Zodiac wrote it, it would certainly solidify his connection to Cheri Jo Bates and Riverside and make it far more likely, IMO, that he actually killed Cheri Jo.

– What does the title "Sick of living/Unwilling to die" refer to? Is this referring to the writer’s potential victim or himself?

– What does "clean" refer to? Is it perhaps referring to cutting cleanly or of cleaning up the blood that is spilled from cutting?

In reading through this thread, I think these images from Tahoe’s excellent post seem to answer the question about the type of desk that the poem was written on. It definitely seems to be one of those horribly uncomfortable "flip top" desks in which the writing surface flips down in front of the student when they sit in the chair. Yes, it’s from a movie but Fincher apparently had unprecedented access to original evidence and is a real stickler for realism. If the representation is accurate and the poem was indeed written on the bottom of the writing surface, it would have had to be a left-handed desk, no? Perhaps that’s reading too much into a movie prop but, as pictured, it would represent either the top of a right-handed desk or the bottom of a left-handed desk.

“Sick of living, unwilling to die”, may refer to his own depression or illness.
“clean” not really sure what this refers to, but perhaps, clearing his conscience?

Again, I am no psychologist, etc, not sure what the writer was trying to say, only stating what it says to me.
“All over her red dress” – most guys would think of a girl, in a red dress, in a sexual way, or maybe find her attractive, this Guy is thinking about spilling blood on it, that to me clearly shows a twisted mind.
“this time, someone will find her, just wait till next time”- to me sounds as if he is afraid to go thru with something, but next time, she won’t be so lucky.

Morf: I believe I found T’s comparison – and it’s indeed great work. I will study it closer tonight.

One point: If Z wrote this poem (and I’m still not sure he did – just stating that) trying to match every word and phrase to something positively Z-ish may not be the right way of looking at it. My two cents: IF he wrote this poem, Z was a student, a former student or someone who worked at the library. He could have written this several years before Bates – and the poem may not refer to that particular case directly. He had blood and girls on his mind – yes, but that fits the general picture, it doesn’t have to be a specific reference to Bates in order for it to make sense (for us, I mean).

Fincher may be a stickler for detail, but note the differences btw. the movie prop and the actual desktop.

There appears to be a bit more desk involved under the writing in the pic of the actual desktop. I like the idea that it may have been written on the bottom of a left-handed desk, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to trust the accuracy of the prop yet.

It was definitely written on the bottom side of the desk, no matter what the prop shows

From Mel Nicolai’s DOJ report, another specific tie between Bates and that library. The desk did indeed come out of that Library

If I recall, the Argosy article discussed here shed more light on the desk-
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=97

Sorry if this has already been noted by someone else, but in looking at the photos of the desk just now with the resolution in these pics and on my computer screen, it looks to me as if the numerals 17 and the letter Z is there under the poem. Not sure if the numbers were written, but the Z looks like it was a formation in the wood.

Am wondering if this poem has ever been analyzed by an English professor or an expert in poetry? The take from a real expert in these fields would be interesting.

Am wondering if this poem has ever been analyzed by an English professor or an expert in poetry? The take from a real expert in these fields would be interesting.

Thats a pretty neat idea

Fincher may be a stickler for detail, but note the differences btw. the movie prop and the actual desktop.

There appears to be a bit more desk involved under the writing in the pic of the actual desktop. I like the idea that it may have been written on the bottom of a left-handed desk, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to trust the accuracy of the prop yet.

Yes. Definitely differences in where the handwriting was placed, but I’m pretty darn sure (not that that will convince anyone ) it was a desk exactly like this one. A while back I saw a black and what photograph of an older, gray-haired man holding it up. For the life of me, I cannot find it or remember where I saw it. It was just like those I posted.

IMO, this is a poem written by someone who was "Sick of Living", but possibly unsuccessful in their suicide attempt. Whether real, or possibly a vision of what would happen if they tried. From the outside looking in…so-to-speak.

Unfortunately, one man’s (albeit professional) opinion doesn’t cut it for me. To me, there are more differences than similarities and other handwriting analysts surely disagreed with Morrill. There would have to something more conclusive for me to say it was written by the same hand as Zodiac.

I use Trav’s side by side analysis, which for me, locks it in, the Zodiac letters link to the desktop