In the weekly poetic reading/exercises that I am doing with Laura Salas I find that some weeks are easier than others. This week’s was one of the toughest for me and yet, once I made myself do it, I learned a lot. People say that if there is no joy in the writing you should just stop writing. Yesterday, today, there was much joy and I am grateful.
Poem a Day #14
Yesterday I challenged myself to call up
an old poem and listen carefully
to the sounds of the story
it spilled upon the page.
Unable to imagine success, I resisted,
like a child unwilling to take a nap.
The task was hard and made my brain hurt
in places that felt unused.
I forced myself
if only to keep from being embarrassed
when I had nothing to show
for the day.
Surprise tapped me on the shoulder
and I was face-to-face
with my old friend joy,
the one that comes with word play.
My pulse raced, just a little,
and though it was time to break for dinner
I found I couldn’t stop
I didn’t want to stop
I had to write just one more word.
I couldn’t hold the high for long,
just long enough
to create a crack, in the concrete,
of my storyteller’s soul.
Susan Taylor Brown.
All rights reserved.
Hooray for joy!
Yay!
So glad your old friend joy returned! Hope more word playing occurs in the near future :).
Thank you, Jama. I am having more play days than frustrating days which is big progress for me!
“…I found I couldn’t stop…I didn’t want to stop…”
That says it all!
Love, Deborah
Re: “…I found I couldn’t stop…I didn’t want to stop…”
Thanks, Deborah.
Thank you, Jeannine!