to walk away from the page at all.
What hubris to think that in escaping,
the page would not follow,
dog your steps, and infect your mind.
Your empty page grows, mortal,
vacant and white,
pursuing you like the tomb you thought to escape.
Numb and smiling,
you have given in to bland busyness
while you tried, vainly,
to hold the past at bay,
the present in limbo.
What do you fear what Do you fear
A critic has been born in you
who cuts at your page with scissors
like a child run amok,
Your mind in fragments across time.
Her power grows while you thought to ignore her.
She has had her say and thinks she can win.
And yet, patient page has waited after all.
She has not accused you as you had thought.
But wise and implacable, has waited
For you to do that, entirely, yourself.
What a powerful poem about writer's block and the self-critic. I felt these words sharply....
ReplyDelete'What do you fear what Do you fear
A critic has been born in you
who cuts at your page with scissors
like a child run amok'
Ah, even when you set the pen down, ideas follow...really hard to walk away from the ideas, especially when they seem to grow in power when ignored!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beginning! How you portray the realization that comes with the understanding that we are the ones holding ourselves back is really well done.
ReplyDelete-HA
very creative way of describing it, we all fight our ideas..
ReplyDeleteI think this is what we all struggle with from time to time... you have expressed yourself as that voice in every poet's heart.
ReplyDeleteWow! Such a thought provoking poem :)
ReplyDeleteThis is a powerful write! And I like the twist, at the end, when the severest critic is oneself, which is usually the case, I suspect.
ReplyDeleteYup !
ReplyDeleteZQ
i love the ending. We don't need the page or anyone or anything else to accuse us. most of us do that plenty well ourselves! Truth.
ReplyDeleteSuch a captivating opening line - perhaps the only suicide is in giving up trying - to write or do whatever we find useful...pages are forgiving and are there to be filled - a wonderful poem
ReplyDeleteWOW! Starting out with that blank page as enemy and even a grave, this poem turned around to give a vivid image of that push we all need to get at the gut. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful to hear all of your comments - I'm glad you found something you like in it!
ReplyDeleteA powerful and thought provoking piece. " A critic has been born in you who cuts at your page with scissors like a child run amok" was for me, an indelible line of poetry.
ReplyDelete