WRITING IS...

Five poems about what writing means to me. Two poems inspired by Charles Bukowski.

The Tunnel

To write is to live in perpetual darkness

And try to guide your way out

Of the tunnel that seems so narrow

That you try to squeeze your body through

To write is to squint your eyes and pray

That someone will rescue you

As you walk into the shadows

That swallow your figure whole

To write is to feel like you are going to fall or

That something might catch you on your path

And harm you with all their strength

But to write is to trudge forward anyway

So that you may free yourself.

Baggage

Words are magic beans,

that send you through a portal of your own making.

They give you the power to cast a spell that requires no potion.

And all writing asks

Is that you pack a bag of your Thoughts

Feelings

and Emotions

Of your greatest Insecurities

Struggles

and Pains

So that once you enter this world of endless imagination,

you can finally unload.

How it Feels

Writing is not a simple task, it is not easy to do

It is not for the vain or the superficial, who only crave recognition

If you cannot feel the words POURING out of you like a faucet,

Or pulling you every which way until you're dizzy; BREATHLESS,

then it is not a ride for you

If it is better for you with the lights on, than the lights off

for fear of the dark,

living your life with a flashlight in hand,

then you have no business in writing

it will not be the truth

To be a writer means getting stabbed in the gut

FEELING everything

SEEING those you love leave

WANTING to do more and be more

If your life lacks a burst of colour,

and thoughts that swirl through that volcano mind of yours

waiting to erupt,

If you love to live in black and white,

perpetually quiet,

Then you are wasting your time.

Writing is for those who want to live again.

Tools of Survival

Pencil and paper,

the tools that lead me to a universe

where love is love

and peace is eternal.

where dragons aren't the only things that breathe fire

and the princess is a warrior.

Pencil and paper,

help me fight for the ones I love,

cry for the ones I've lost,

scream out for the innocence that is gone

and breathe again though my heart has been ripped out of my chest.

Pencil and paper,

Is all you need

When you're a writer

It's all you need

To survive.

The Lucky One

There are whispers on the street of how Jimmy Foxx

lost his way,

he died with a bottle between his lips

drowning in a sea of his troubles

and bourbon.

Beau Jack was a man

who once wore the best shoes,

the better the shoes,

the better he could run and make baskets.

They took care of him, so it was no surprise when

he ended up taking care of them, just on another man's feet.

I never thought I would say I am lucky,

the best of the three.

Because I wore my heart on my sleeve,

I celebrated my heartbreak,

Loved t swim in my sorrows,

Felt the kiss of a bottle on my lips,

And cherished every bit of it

Because I am a wrriter and writing is not about being found. It is about revelling in the fact that you are lost.

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