It’s dead of night. My body is resting but thoughts circle like restless birds. Trying not to leak black ink onto whiteness of pillow, I scribble in a notepad, needing to put pen to paper.

Here’s what emerged in the midnight hours…

“Words have been rather stilled of late. Once they ran so freely I could scarce keep pace with them. Strangely, poetry often flows more freely than prose when I’m extra fatigued. It makes me wonder if we can only focus on one facet at a time: Storytelling, fiction writing, memoir, articles, functional narrative, or poetry in all its various guises.

I cannot always cajole poetry. She’s capricious, wilful and shy. Her alchemy fails when I push too hard, strain for a rhyme or press to combine this word and that into magic potions of my own devising.

When I simply let her alone, ignore my desire to pen the poetic, then she returns. Quietly at first. A line or two to get me started. A word that lingers like honey on the tongue.

Eventually, my poetic Muse (Holy Spirit) yields a few phrases and allows me space to create. Instead of dredging for pearls, I find they flit through my fingers, scatter their largesse.

Instead of sitting with the sludge of frustration and settling into despondency, poetry’s entry turns me into a deft weaver of words, spinner of rhythm and rhyme, and a sweeter expression than before.

She teaches me patience and the power of concentration mixed with creative interpretation. Poetry reaches into my heart to prise apart soul feelings, stir the melting pot of emotions into a semblance of sensibility others can relate to.

In those times when we are together companionably, I am grateful for poetry’s presence. When she departs briefly (or maybe for weeks), then I seek solace in writing of another kind.

Because I need to let loose. I cannot stop simply because poetry has temporarily pulled the plug on me..”

This is one of my occasional forays into describing the writing process, which is all part of my life and faith journey. To read the rest of this post, please follow me over to the ACW (Association of Christian Writers) ‘More than Writers’ blog where I am sharing my words today. Just click here to join me there. Thank you!