WRITING POETRY

some days
you just start over
and over
putting
words on paper
crossing them out
rewriting them
waiting
searching
looking
reading
hoping for a little taste of the magic,
some perfect prompt
or inspiring word,
a catalyst
to get the words
flowing

you remember days
when you felt your
own meager genius
rise to the occasion
and thought maybe you'd tapped
into some kind of cosmic stream
because the words just poured
through you
and the verses
seemed to write themselves

but not today

today there is a clog
in the pipes
and the words
aren't coming
quick and easy
and you think what the hell am i doing,
whatever made me think
i was a poet
could call myself a poet
could write frickin' poetry
but then
there you are,
sitting at your desk,
determined to work through it
and doing what poets do,

writing poetry