Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Inspired

By Joseph Hesch

I thought you were my forever muse.
When we were new, odes and heartsongs
flowed from me like exhalations.
And then, despite my obsessions,
or maybe because, you were gone.
Your golden memory faded and
so too the words I once cast
as easily as my shadow.
Just when I thought I’d never
speak to the page again,
the page spoke to me.
It called me, invited me to play,
to discourse on love and nature
and all those people in the world
besides you.
See, I learned that a muse is a crutch,
an alibi, an excuse for not being
who I am and what I might yet be.
Thanks for that inspiration, at least.
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36 comments:

  1. Diana LeeAugust 16, 2011 at 3:34 PM

    I joke about 'the muse' all the time. Inspiration is a necessity but you're right,a blank page is the most potent of all.

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  2. Jenne' R. Andrews August 16, 2011 at 3:40 PM

    Ah yes, I know about making the Other the muse, the source. So dangerous. This is a psalm of self-emancipation-- love these lines especially:

    When we were new, odes and heartsongs
    flowed from me like exhalations.

    xxj

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  3. Brian MillerAugust 16, 2011 at 3:45 PM

    smiles. great write joe...i hear you as well..the muse then becomes the easy target when we dont do what we can...

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  4. TashtooAugust 16, 2011 at 4:00 PM

    I like to think of such a thing as divine intervention! Sometime, when something holds us back that we think we so feverishly need, the world strips it away from us, and we hurt then we heal and then our true self starts to once again shine...and we can take our follies and broken hearts and turn them into the soundtrack of our brief journey here. Loved it Joe...really!

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  5. KatherineAugust 16, 2011 at 4:17 PM

    Wonderful, honest write. Loved it!

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  6. Jannie FunsterAugust 16, 2011 at 4:23 PM

    Ah yes, my page speaks to me when she is ready. Seems to be a lot of that going around for we writing types. :) When we chase we usually do not find.

    Really enjoyed this, Joseph.

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  7. Pat HattAugust 16, 2011 at 4:25 PM

    Very true we can learn from all instances, wonderfully written.

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  8. CrystalAugust 16, 2011 at 4:46 PM

    See, I learned that a muse is a crutch,
    an alibi, an excuse for not being
    who I am and what I might yet be.

    I love this. Something to remember in any kind of relationship.

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  9. signed...bkmAugust 16, 2011 at 5:06 PM

    Oh that muse..she is a trickster...I too so count on her and when she does not show her face...nights I lay awake in search of a line...you penned her well...bkm

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  10. ClaudiaAugust 16, 2011 at 5:29 PM

    nice joe - thankful the page called you to write...and who needs a muse anyway...thanks for being an inspiration

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  11. ayalaAugust 16, 2011 at 5:40 PM

    Wonderful write, Joe. Good the page called you to write. :)

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  12. AnonymousAugust 16, 2011 at 5:49 PM

    Easy to blame it on the muse...but not so easy to take life, talent by the horns and steer it (no pun intended)..as you will. You did, and proved that the well does not have to run dry. This poem is an inspiration. Thanks, Joe!

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  13. AnonymousAugust 16, 2011 at 7:15 PM

    Yes, a striking start:

    I thought you were my forever muse.
    When we were new, odes and heartsongs
    flowed from me like exhalations.

    And throughout, your flow is what makes this complete... lovely pace and calm.. Thank you..

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  14. AnonymousAugust 16, 2011 at 7:18 PM

    I have never believed in the Muse. Never. To put the inspiration into the hands, etc...of something other than your own experience, thoughts seems...well...evasive and foolhearty.

    I like this poem very much, Joe. It strikes me as honest and I can relate personally.

    There was a time, three years ago, that words fled me like I was a plague...perhaps I was. I never thought I would write a poem again. I did, but I realized that before I was tied up with someone who chopped up my psyche. When we break free...we find more in this new freedom than just a walk-away.

    Good poem, Joe.

    Lady Nyo

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  15. AnonymousAugust 16, 2011 at 7:31 PM

    Revealing the heart of a poet...

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  16. CarysAugust 16, 2011 at 7:33 PM

    Joe, this has such a delightful rhythm and melodic quality to it that when I got to the end I found myself thinking - oh no, dont end just yet, I'm not ready. Always leave 'em wanting more eh!

    so too the words I once cast
    as easily as my shadow. - love these lines, they feel effortless and yet so effective.

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  17. DaydreamerAugust 16, 2011 at 8:06 PM

    Sometimes we lose our way in the rat race of life and it isn't til we 'allow' ourselves the luxury of being still and daydreaming that we find our poetic voice, again, it seems this happened with you, glad it did.
    A lovely read, thank you.

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  18. ScarletAugust 16, 2011 at 8:51 PM

    I like your take on this muse and the power within us to write and "speak" to a blank page.

    Sometimes the activity of just writing down all the incoherent ramblings to me , is also the start, and will lead you into another journey.

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  19. Henry ClemmonsAugust 16, 2011 at 9:06 PM

    Bring it on. Great piece on self and writing truth from within instead of inspired smething from smething bled through the brain.
    Nice, super nice job.

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  20. AnonymousAugust 16, 2011 at 10:31 PM

    Great piece! It can be a tug of war sometimes.

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  21. VictoriaAugust 16, 2011 at 10:33 PM

    Bravo, Joe. I believe that the muse is within. So easy to use something outside of ourselves as an excuse for not writing.

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  22. Maude LynnAugust 16, 2011 at 11:22 PM

    Great flow and a wicked close. I really enjoyed this.

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  23. Elizabeth YoungAugust 17, 2011 at 12:21 AM

    This is a very clever write, where over time wisdom appears after heartache, and the writer knows that there are lessons to be learned even through loss. Scholarly but filled with emotion also...

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  24. SheilaAugust 17, 2011 at 9:44 AM

    Ha , love that tongue-in-cheek thanks at the end. At least they got you started bc we are all benefitting from it now! :)

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  25. UnknownAugust 17, 2011 at 12:14 PM

    Cleverly closes out Joe, really enjoyed this, I had only a brief moment of understanding the 'muse' then I realized that its just me ;) Great write ~ Rose

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  26. Mark KerstetterAugust 17, 2011 at 12:30 PM

    I think about those who feel they must wait for inspiration to make any kind of art. It just doesn't work that way. You look at the blank page and make it happen, you make your own inspiration.

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  27. KavitaAugust 17, 2011 at 3:19 PM

    Awesome awesome awesome!!! (LOUD APPLAUSE)
    This really spoke to me, Joe.. as I have been at war with my muses fro a while.. but there are times when I feel that it's not my muses that elude me, but my own will to write... and I accept the latter, I am automatically at peace, and even writing comes back to me.. :)

    (sigh)..such are the ways of the world.. and every artist (person) has to deal with it I guess - by letting go - and inspiration will follow.. :)

    Very well written, my friend!

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  28. hedgewitchAugust 17, 2011 at 3:34 PM

    I have to echo Mark--back in April for the poem a day challenge, which I thought I would never be able to do, I was amazed by what happened when I just sat down and said "I have to write something." It's all in there, and if losing a muse teaches you that, on balance, one wonders if you're not the winner in that last line.

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  29. Arron ShillingAugust 17, 2011 at 5:11 PM

    I also concur with Mark and Hedge effort provokes inspiration of self - muses come and go.

    A very fine poem

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  30. Arron ShillingAugust 17, 2011 at 5:16 PM

    Can you concur with two people simultaneously in different spaces?...Clueless i am! lol

    Still a fine poem

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  31. AnonymousAugust 17, 2011 at 6:30 PM

    I enjoyed the poem but will still speak of my muse. The muse is what takes the pressure off me so I can truly write what I feel. I can write because the muse will fill in the gaps. I don't have to be great and when I'm awful, either way it's the muse's job. :-)

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  32. AnonymousAugust 17, 2011 at 7:05 PM

    I giggled aloud at that last line. I'm no good at forcing the pen. Luckily my muses are many ranging from men to moths. I enjoyed this, thanks. :)

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  33. Steve KingAugust 17, 2011 at 8:09 PM

    Yes, no muses. Always alone and self-dependent. The muse is always in one's own heart.

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  34. AnonymousAugust 18, 2011 at 9:16 AM

    Superbe Bravo.

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  35. GlynnAugust 19, 2011 at 12:11 AM

    My best muses have always been a blank page and a deadline. Good poem, Joe.

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  36. poetjanstieSeptember 19, 2011 at 4:22 AM

    Inspired indeed, Joe. Your words flow beautifully onto that page, as ever. And just when I was telling Lady FuManchu that my muse had disappeared when I erased my hard drive last week!

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