Calling and Craft
Demons always inhabit desolate places.
No one chooses to be a writer;
Or seeks to be oppressed,
You’re called to this suffering
And either flee or accept.
Well, call me Jonah—
I spent a lifetime resisting
Oh, all my poems are there-
In my old high school yearbook
Under the title Anon
I was a wild ass of a man
Who thought he could hear God and run;
It happened to the desert monks
In the form of temptations
And apparitions
Ghostly voices on the wind
And rain with its sadness
And not to forget,
Beautiful women
Made up of nothingness.
The gold, the glitter and the girls.
He took a coal from his altar
And cleansed my lips
I was a man of blood
But He saw something else
Something hidden in my heart
I had no knowledge of myself.
And so, torn between dreams
And confusion
Not wanting to be a prophet,
But only to be human,
I deliberately spilled
Black ink of despair...
My stained glass soul
Too broken to repair.
I'm sure this applies aptly to your outlook on writing, but I don't find it applicable to myself. For example I write because it is what I do best and something I love. I guess I'm saying I have not suffered for my craft, and therefore have difficulty relating to your point of view here. Nothing wrong with that, though. You said what you feel and you said it well. There is no failure to communicate here.
That's true...somehow writing for me is a calling - I know that may sound mystical to some, but for me it's like falling in love - yes, there's joy, but also a lot of pain. Sometimes I think they're the same. The writing part for me comes easy, it's the suffering part that comes out of my life and is the basis for what I write. As I often tell young writers, I don't make stories up, I write them down - from my storehouse of bumps on the road :)
I deliberately spilled
Black ink of despair...
My stained glass soul
Too broken to repair
I understand, John. Poetry claims the poet and doesn't let go.
one writ with me in sour misfortune's book :)
Leo este poema y no puedo dejar de recordar lo que me comentabas de tu deseo de ser sacerdote, @johnjgeddes. Y de todo el trabajo que puede significar llegar a tal elevación. Aunque el ser poeta también requiere de cierta iniciación, cierto rito de limpieza espiritual para despertar los sentidos y airear la mente. Es que para poder escribir debemos aprender y desaprender muchas cosas. El ruido más ensordecedor es el que llevamos por dentro y tenemos que aprender a controlar ese volumen. Que tengas feliz noche y mejor despertar. ;)
Tienes razón, Nancy, la creatividad no es ex nihilo sino que viene a través de las dificultades, el horno de la aflicción y el sufrimiento
Great poem! I try to understand what do you want to say actually through this poem. It's about "hard life"..(just correct me if i am wrong). Thanks for sharing.
Hi, @johnjgeddes! Nice to meet you.
Best regards from me @city29
it is about the struggle of life and more specifically about the challenge of writing about it. Thanks for your response
Oh I see. I got it now. Thanks for your response, too, @johnjgeddes. I am following you now. Hopefully I can get many other great information from your writing.
Wow, dark my favorite kind of poetry. I love the last four lines, very evocative!
I came here from steemchat #poetry
Followed and upvoted. Great content !
thank you - I appreciate the encouragement
Thanks for letting me know I am not alone.
thanks for your response :)
I like it man!
Thanks!
https://steemit.com/news/@bible.com/6h36cq
Excellent your post.man... I always like to follow you
so how come you don't vote? From nothing, comes nothing
You got a 3.85% upvote from @upme thanks to @johnjgeddes! Send at least 3 SBD or 3 STEEM to get upvote for next round. Delegate STEEM POWER and start earning 100% daily payouts ( no commission ).