Being a Poet

Mara Ket via unsplash

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If you want to be a poet
be prepared for an adventure
it might begin with a faint nudge
from a well inside
a tap, tap, tap
like rain or snow
or the cocoon of fog
gracing a window.

It’s a knowing you can’t hide.
It might begin with an avalanche
of pain and tears and all the aches
from far and near
and, yet you’ve kept it quiet…
until now.

Several will say it’s your calling
but I say it’s a stirring spell
more like drinking a potion
where love and hope,
angst and pain
and somehow
the sea and gravity
are mixed in
with the stars and the moon.

Nature will be your guide,
and emotions will serve as a teacher.
Your experiences and way of being
will transcribe the poetry for you.
Others seeking their words
will be attracted
when you share yours.

It’s a conduit that bridges people.
When a poem is ready
to come through
you will notice
a perplexing sensation
near your heart or
a burning in your belly
and there’s very little
that can stop you
from the urge to write.

You will pull your car over
and you’ll scramble
to find an envelope,
the edge of a grocery list
whether the sun stands tall
or if evergreens call
and most definitely
when your tears fall.

Even in your nighttime dreams,
you’ll scribble notes and words
and chapters.
A leaf will come to life.
Colors are purer.
Those voices touch your DNA
and by morning, you’ll rub your eyes
and exclaim, I must write!

If you want to be a poet
please understand
it is complex and
it is simple.
To be a poet is inviting,
a convoluted inquiry
exposing all sides of you
because….
Poetry is your companion.
A signature from you.
A scribe of words
and a dialect that only can be
transcribed by you.

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Published on Medium. "If You Want to Be a Poet."