Your time adrift makes the final destination that much sweeter Ma'am. I didn't learn this as a writer, but as a sailor of 23 years.

I'm learning too that it's the journey in writing, the time away from safe mooring that gives our words true character. Thank you for taking me along on your journey of doubt and determination. You said what I feel much more than not, and you said it beautifully.

I can sympathize with your delimina

NOT INSPIRED A poem you asked me to write, I guess No, I just can not write under stress The ole mind vacant—I must confess To simmer your stew – you get this mess. All other minds are busy thinking While mine strolls blanks without blinking Try—no words will come, not an inkling It’s too late in the night—stars are twinkling. On the lawn, gaze at the stars, awake Four wheelers, boom boxes, prowling snake Waterfalls, beavers, raccoons, fried steak Still no words, oh, how my head does ache. Word of wisdom, please give me a sign Day is breaking and soon time to dine Lying on my back, since about nine The hot sun will soon begin to shine. Bones are stiff, feel the affects of aging World is awake-by sounds, I’m gauging Doves and quails their partners are paging A poem, no poem----never---I’m waging. Leona Phillips © September 2005

Leona,

Your words never fail to make me smile and take another look at things. Your cheerful sensibility and positive take on life are inevitably inspiring.

Thank you for stopping by.

- akabukowski

I think of writing as a responsibility. Well because I think it’s a response. I think it’s the response to enlightenment. I think a writer must have the faith to believe in the truth of his perception, the obligation of his enlightenment, and the necessity of his participation. I write because I know in my heart that it's my turn to tell the truth. And when the words escape me because they illude my grasp - I must remember that I am not the only tool for the exposition of truth. I must wait my turn.

That’s the difficult part. Waiting. Often we’re weighted by the wait. But I try to remember one fundamental fact - if one time you wrote one word that shed light on an uncertainty or placed flesh on pseudo fantasy, then you wrote right. If one man reads you - and his shadows of doubt recede, you’ve written right. And you’re a righter.

So sit back, exhale, and realize that as a writer you are a true instrument. You’re an instrument of illuminating a truth. You’re a beat in the synchronicity of Divinity. So keep your symbols in hand and wait for the beat. And bask in the knowledge that you know. And you’ll know the words when it’s time for them to be known.

We forget that a gifted writer has been given a gift. And you’re a gifted writer. I think the danger is when we assume that the writer received the gift. It’s a gift given to the reader. We must not take pride in being the instrument. We’re just playing the tune - we didn’t compose the music - and we don’t keep the score.

Kat,

Ah, the dread Writer's Block, dammit, how well we know the fears and insecurities attached to this worst of all maladies.

As a practical matter, why not drop into Impromptu and respond to the intriguing prompts Otter brings to us? Sometimes just writing for fun can break the Block and make room for true creativity.

Good luck and G*d bless (I'm an atheist)!

Cheers,

-M