A Rembrandt of Inspiration
I'm searching for a Cadillac of thoughts,
a Rembrandt of inspiration.
Through a dreary winter's day I
hear the rhythm of nature
playing a symphony of moods
and I long to play those chords
on a grand piano
of my own imagination.
Too long insulated
from the extremes of
human existence,
it's easy to become deaf
to the sounds of joy
and blind to the
sights of agony
playing on the
home theaters
that surround us.
Who has time
to listen patiently
in this world
of Net Jets and Twitter?
Who can find the channel
that connects our feelings
to our reality?
Images of whales and monsoons
are pasted to a backdrop
of the Sahara and Tibet...
And the soothing tones
of holiday choirs are
being drowned by
the rap tunes playing
in the Altimas outside.
Les
the isolation and the disconnect can be disconcerting...but it is the world we find ourselves in and it is better to find ourselves and reflect on such worlds than to not have the chance to.
Your piece is very good, Les.
Peter
Peter, thanks for reading and commenting. Tomorrow morning I'll post an anecdote relating to the first two lines of the poem.
Les
The first two lines of this poem spring from a conversation I heard on the Charlie Rose talk show. The narrator was asking a New York playwright about the nature of the creative process. The playwright replied: "Inspiration is for amateurs...the rest of us just need to get to work and write..."
I must be an amateur then, because I wait for that spark of an idea that is worthy of some time and effort. I believe that even the most prolific of us must be able to tell when the writing is done which works have been "inspired" and which have been mere drudgery. I also believe the reader can tell the difference between the two.
Les
Les,
If The playwright [who] replied: "Inspiration is for amateurs...the rest of us just need to get to work and write..." he lives in a different work than I do, since the two are not mutually exclusive, inspiration and hard work. Both play a major role in the work of every creative person I know or have known. Certainly just waiting around for an idea etc. won't get you any where, but working your ass off for year won't guarantee accomplishments either. It's a little more compliicated than either...
amo,
Peter
Aha, I stop by the mule for some Christmas Season nostalgia and find a nice piece from you, Les. I'm not sure if it's just getting older, or if this world of technology is, indeed, drowning out the likes of "Do you hear what I hear?" from the choir, but I hear you with this piece. Funny, because I just read a book in the last 24 hours (a Christmas miracle in and of itself) that led me to learn of a girl named "Akiane" who has been divinely inspired since the age of four. She's only about 16 now. You just have to read her story and view her fabulous paintings to know that the playwright you speak of is an i....well, I'll just say...wrong.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, Les, and all the good people of e-mule!
Marty
p.s. she also writes poetry...so I'll post something from her
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/31/2010 03:51AM by UPMarty.
Peter, I agree, inspiration can be fleeting and for some of us even rare, but hard work without inspiration in writing of any sort will probably not get the job done.
Happy New Year to you also, Mary, thanks for stopping by and thanks for commenting. I truly enjoyed Akiane's poem, she is a very gifted girl.
Les
Who spends time to hear himself? The Ones are conected only with the outer world.
Geraldo, thanks for reading and commenting.
Les
You're wellcome. I've been enriched by You. Thanks.
Nice piece, Les. I haven't had the time to stop by here too often lately, but I'm glad I paid a visit this morning. The mood you set has a proper amount of melancholy and wistfulness without crossing over into banality. I also like the musical imagery portrayed in the first verse. Well done.
Joe
Joe, thanks for reading and commenting. I hope that you're able to find the time to post some of your work on e-mule this year.
Les