Here's tonight's offering in my 30 poems in 30 days challenge:
A Creative Cycle
Once I get to this part of a project
it is just repetitive action, there
...and there...and there...
The hands know what to do.
I can just sit back
and watch them move through
their well practiced dance.
The brain is freed to drift.
When I'm lucky I can slip
into a serene meditative trance
but nights like tonight
I'm just kind of...
bored.
But when a project starts...
no, before that.
When an idea emerges in my brain.
I can roll it around my head,
testing phantom textures,
brushing on invisible colors,
puzzling out the process,
prodding, and polishing
this bright new creation
that nobody else can see...
Then I'm full of an addictive
bouncy new-thing energy.
And then I get to gather
the tools, pick out materials,
and dig in to the physical process.
It is an emotional rush,
a personal challenge.
Can I make this really happen?
Am I skilled enough to take the concept
and give it tactile form?
I'll hit snags and roadblocks.
That problem solving trial stage
is often frustrating
but usually full of a shiny joy
that sweeps me
feverishly along.
I want to know:
Do I have the power
to make a day-dream
real?
And then...
I know that it will work.
I can (mostly) see how it will look.
Problem solved.
Theory proved.
The sparkle fades
and all that is left
is this,
the repetitive motion
and meditative movement.
Nights like tonight,
what carries me through
is just a healthy dose
of plain old stubborn
perseverance.
Almost there...
Almost to the 'have created' stage,
where I can bask and admire...
and then I can start to dream again!
Melissa McCollum
11/14/2010
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