August 2002

Creative Courage
  

Color and form in a poem

Are always a unique arrangement

As in any art medium.

 

Inspiration is uncertain, not assured

The search is more important

than the outcome or the escape.

 

A spark is wished for

Like a splash of color pointing somewhere,

A quiver of unexpected fun

Laughs, inner creation, relief

 

On-going distractions,

Imperative life, unavoidable duties,

You learn to impose the human regime

Onto every activity, even creativity,

But only our sensibilities belong in the art realm,

The way in which we sense a poem

How you incorporate a picture, a song, a dance.

 

What it’s like cannot be told, only flashed.

Like listening to its motor, you would drift away.

Yet, rhythm is its heart, not its sentiment.

The energy needs to rise and fall

Spreading out over the landscape

Like an inquisitive hand.

 

Events occur there

Whether bare stage or empty street,

The ultimate scene takes place inside the reader.

 

Creativity and listening are a test of courage

As you take on these arrangements,

Wrestle with its form or formless contents,

Deal with continuity or the lack – not like a

Movie where the actors wear the wrong shoes,

But in a spiritual quandary where

Only you know there IS an answer.  

©Jimmy Warner, 2002