busy hand forgets the pen

A man who keeps a diary, pays 

Due toll to many tedious days; 

But life becomes eventful—then 

His busy hand forgets the pen. 

Most books, indeed, are records less 

Of fulness than of emptiness. 

 

[William Allingham {1824-1889} 'Writing', from Solitude, part of Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets]