Breathless

A suggestion to answer the why of poetic expression and experience.

Hold your breath and write...
Do not let anything out or anything in.
Just bottle up the breath of life and see what happens.

Does it hurt?
Does it burn?
Does your body fight to override you mind?

Did a poem find the paper during your struggle?
Is the page eerily blank?
How present is your muse?

Now, let go~
Gasp!
Let invisibility fill your lungs with life...

Do you feel every cell drink?
Is your blood pounding in your ears?
Is your heart racing to catch up?

Then the breath is spent...
You will soon need another.
It's OK... Let it out and you will receive more in return.

Now, I will confess.
You write the air.
My aching need finds a moment's rest.

Joyously I fly in the poetry,
On wings of feathered Quill~
Resting in the condensation of meaning.

Breathe in the unspent life of these words.
Ascend to the clouds and join me,
Where your poetry flew my heart.

Gasp with me now,
One breath is not enough.
Feel free to take another~

Author's Note

Maybe it will resonate with some readers?
I wrote this poem as a response to, and specifically for, my friend Quill~

Reviews

[icelandicblue]

This is really beautiful David, we write the air...we are the air. This is an outstanding poem, a favorite in fact.

Now, I will confess.
You write the air.
My aching need finds a moment's rest.

Joyously I fly in the poetry,
On wings of Quil~
Resting in the condensation of meaning.

[David Scott]

Thank you Blue.
I hope you are staying warm in poetic inspiration while the world around you is freezing... Brrrrr.
Hang in there and enjoy the holidays! :)

[MOON]

The word and it's flow the air we breathe, the process and inspiration of writing beautifully conveyed.

[David Scott]

Thank you for your luminous presence Moon.
I'm grateful for your time to read and review.

[Luna Stormbreaker]

Wow, that was great!
I am not that good at poetry, but this is really good, you wrote it very well.

[David Scott]

Thank you for the like and the read.
May I suggest, much like breathing, poetry is not about reaching a level of proficiency as much as it is about letting poetry happen. You can learn style and form, you can even practice, but mostly, you need to exercise the organic process of breathing in and breathing out your poetic expression. Good luck and keep writing.

[Luna Stormbreaker]

thanks, you are a very inspiring writer

[Muse]

I think that's why poetry is so damn personal to me. I stop breathing when I write. My mortality is being spent with each and every minute I choose to not breathe. It's almost as if the act of breathing might scare away a moment of inspiration. In other words; we can get caught up in the drama of writing. I must say "I kind of like it"

[David Scott]

I'll take a "kinda like it" from you dear Muse! ;)
I more than kinda like you ya know.
Thank you very much for reading and reviewing.

[Muse]

liked it enough to make it a favorite. :))

[David Scott]

Now you make me blush. I still remember the first poem I read of yours. I will tell you you hooked me as a favorite writer on that instant. Thank you again for everything you are creatively here.

[Muse]

*blush* and thank you :))

[bobc]

DS...poems arrive from anywhere. I personally feel like they are sometimes already written and only appear on the page as a convenience. You're metaphor of holding your breath is not far off the mark. The muse has been kind of like that for me at times...a taskmaster demanding everything and more. More often, she's (and yes, she is female in my estimation) more benign. Enjoyed this poem...it resonated with me...thank you...bobc

[David Scott]

Thank you Bob. I find you to be a fair reviewer and a discerning reader.
Your comments are a gift to me.
Ah, the "Muse" has many forms. I think it is within us as much as something gifted to us. Like a catalyst needs a base and vice versa.
As for gender, I have been inspired from men and women. The feminine spirit can be inspired by a man as the masculine can be inspired from a well rounded woman...
Hmmm? Maybe each person experiences this muse on their own terms. The concept can evolve over a lifetime.

[bobc]

I have actually thought that there are many different muses...some kind and generous, some benign and some angry and almost malevolent. Don't know why but I've always pictured them as female...akin to the Greek muses, the 9 daughters of Zeus. Each to his own inspirations. Thanx...bobc

[Robbie~xoxo~]

Such a plethora of inspiration here... I could pluck each feather and make a wish...I hope it flies high to it's destination...

You are an enchanting soul, my sweet Unicorn, ever and always the dreamer...

I truly love this soft and gentle whisper... exhale stress...inhale poetry.... ahhhhhhhhh

Wonderfully penned!!~xoxo~:)

[David Scott]

Thank you Robbie.
You know well how inspiration works.
Funny how the word "respiration" is so similar to "inspiration".

[Horizon K.]

...Just bottle up the breath of life and see what happens...
...Resting in the condensation of meaning...
A gut response huh? My own poems are mostly acute emotional reactions, so I get that:). Anyway, this was such a physical experience, this release of muse, letting words and emotions fly as they are captured. But there is something about the poem, that goes beyond any process that occurs only in the mind... That finished resonant piece has a life to it, distinguishing it from all the other unfinished or not so deeply felt poem skeletons that never make it out the door. Anyway, a muse like this, let her roar!!

[David Scott]

Hello dear friend. Thank you for your thoughts and for reading.
Obviously I had to use my mind, but this poem came out like a breath. Naturally and without manipulation. It was a release...
I wrote this like many of my poems between patients. Two root canals, four hygiene checks, and three crowns later I had spent about ten minuets writing the thoughts I felt inspired to pen. This is the skeleton of my musings. Thankfully, it flies like a box kite in the wind of inspiration.
I had fun. Thank you again for all the wonderful inspirations you provide.

[Horizon K.]

Those are the best kind of poems... I call them the "fallen out" ones, the way they seem to come from some preexisting space...They always feel most true, least contrived... And awesome that you can do this between patients... The muse... Is such a precious and delicate thing, I have realized...

[Joiedevivre]

'you write the air', now that is a line that takes your breath away. Beautiful, with a spontaneous feel, like breathing in the air your write.

[David Scott]

Thank you for the review Joie.
Poetry is like this for me. Not just from one individuals pen, but as a resource I must allow myself to take in or I squirm and burn and ache and die inside...
It was a little dramatic, but it is my heart in the moment for sure.

[David Scott]

This poem was indeed the result of my friend Quil~ inspiring my day.
She is very special and dear to my heart.

[David Scott]

Oh I felt here a lot of absorption, from a few writers :D I'm smiling. This is so clever, and a realm of meditative power, to let one know, he/she isn't alone, but they fly together. In a poetic process, and thoughtful manner. Just an amazing write David... and I love the quote of Ms. Quill beneath. ;)

- Elisa

[David Scott]

:) Hey Eli.
Thank you for your insightful review.
I'm glad you felt a connection to my thinking here.

The pleasure is all mine, my friend :)