Friday, May 27, 2005

writing instead

I used to lie awake waiting (sweat in my eyes)
for the images to come.
I would sit in coffee shops (even though I cannot stand its bitterness);
At breakfast tables each day,
thinking between the crossword clues.
I used to search for wisdom, inspiration:
Sandburg, Hughes, Bishop, Pound, Williams, and Whitman!
(Oh, what leaves of grass I walk upon looking under each step!)
Bending the pages of these poems,
I try to absorb their passions, words
by showing what I have read.
I write about love
always love!
But, I have been defacing American poetry,
Spitting in the eyes of greatness and
expecting inspiration!
I have crushed leaves of grass instead
of placing my ear on their tips
and listening to their songs.
It is time to read, write, read, write!
Sitting in my chair,
writing instead of
waiting.

2 comments:

Anonymous Poet said...

Yes! Write! But sometimes I thinnk you need to "take in" something of the world and digest it first before you can refine it in your own mind and put it back out there as something new! I think it is perfectly Ok to bend the pages of these poems (or take in the world in any number of other ways). You are looking for data to process and refine through your own creative filter! But, by all means, when you get to the right time -- do create!

. : A : . said...

Yes, writing is the cure. Well put.