From Pen to Paper

A breath of heavenly heat,

a crunch of dried ink.

the last line untouched

the last tone unspoke.

 A restless slumber.

unable to shrink,

unable to close, 

unable to sink.

Beneath an atlas shrugged;

betwixt the soak and withered smudge,

a tumid temper beats. 

Clenching fingers to the sheet.

A delayed babble cross,

the yearning strokes uneasily tossed.

Incapable of song,

incapable to whisper.

The words; never-ending right

until a restless scriber's plight

doth relinquish the quest,

to find the might to write.

To breathe the heat,

to soak the strokes

embedded upon the soul

kept from what was whole.

Until the last bowl tipped.

Until the macabre metal stripped.

The opaque now turned,

a moment broke

A restless slumber

upon and asunder,

unable to close,

unable to speak.

An art forbidden;

a sheet unbroken.

no soul abide left unspoken

the last line touched

   the last line forever spoke.

Reviews

[Frieda P]

I really enjoyed reading this one...seems we have something in common, I write when I can't sleep also. 'No soul left unpoken' resonates in this poets blood.

'to breathe the heat
to soak the strokes
embedded upon the soul
kept from what was whole'

Awe inspiring verse....this is a definite favorite of mine. Kudos.

[Todd Mc' Callough]

Thank you very much, I was randomly searching for a topic to write about just to add another piece in my repertoire and came up with this in under 30 minutes. I love the feedback. Thank you very much.

[James Hanna-Magill]

Dear George.

About time I put 'pen to paper' on some of your pieces.

I think I chose this piece by its title because I wanted to find out about how you write, why you write (I've read your ambitious profile), your view of writing and (now in retrospect by this piece alone) the writer you so clearly are.

At random:

Style and structure - Apparently you haven't heard of capital letters! Good man! They are a waste of ink if you can write them so expertly entirely in lower case.

I like shape in writing. I have pulled my eyes back from the screen, and it's almost like a picture you have written in form, the length of the stanzas and the relative length of the lines. It is not staid writing. It is unboxed and free flowing.

Impact - the sheer flow of words assaults me as unpunctuated line full of sentiment and different meaning follows the next; and the next the next; and the next the next ...

Content - You express in colourful language, the frustrations of writing and the empty page versus the satisfaction of creativity and even getting to the last line. Maybe a hint in there of your profile. Like me, the book in full and editing; the wasted repetition but essential work of the edit.

But way way above all, the intense passion of the writer in you - to use your words 'restless slumber', 'tumid temper', 'clenching fingers', 'yearning strokes', 'restless scribes' ...

I have the advantage over you, that I retired early a 46 (now 53 - I worked 18 hours a day, 7 days a week and managed about 3 of most people's careers in 1 after university , so I feel I deserve it, though working so hard caused it!) so I have the time to devote to my first love, writing.

You are very busy studying but have much longer to hone your art.

In fact if I don't stop this f*****g review soon, you will have died before I get to the end of it or more likely I will have died before you get the chance to read the final cut!

Joking apart, I like reviewing because it is in its own fashion writing still. For me, a relaxation away from my own writing. Like free writing. You might have noticed.

I too have a novel in draft and in heavy edit - have a peep at 'Split'.

As I say our similarities divide as easily as our differences unite.

I very much liked this piece as a sample of your writing.

You sound a bit like me at your age or any age.

You have ambition. You have a goal to achieve in writing.

Work your a*s off and go achieve it.

I am certain you will!

With my kindest regards


James

[Sami Khalil]

Thank you for sharing this good well written poem...:)

[Todd Mc' Callough]

Thank you very much for the insight, I really appreciate it and will continue to write this way in the future.

[Sami Khalil]

You are welcome...:)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

waking up in the middle of the night to write...sounds so familiar...

did you mean "scribe's plight" in fifth line?

very much related to this...we do it because it comes, we do it because we have to.

[Todd Mc' Callough]

I really appreciate the comment and I was honestly debating that possibility. I have these moments all the time as well, but the problem with me is I always let the words slip away and have trouble remembering them.