My Muse Amuses Me

Knowing who is doing the writing is sometimes difficult. We often depend on our muse, but occasionally... we think we are creating all by ourselves.

I am first a poet, and then I am a comic.  My muse amuses me!  She taunts me when I am seriously writing and will not get out of my head until I give in to her demands to record what she dictates.  And, she has outrageous thoughts.

 

My muse will follow me around when I am shopping.  Quite often she will take control of my vocal cords and spout some poetic words of wisdom to a total stranger who has chosen to engage in conversation with me.  Most of these folks simply smile and walk away.  There are a few that get this look of a deer in the headlights as they abruptly depart.

 

When my thoughts turn to the serious business of capturing the true meaning of love in all its angst and glory, or eulogizing the death of a loved one, my muse will sit patiently watching as the words spill out onto the paper (or screen in my case).  Without so much as an “Excuse me, but wouldn’t it be fitting to add....?” , my muse would begin to turn this soul searching effort into a ridiculous scenario from Saturday Night Live, or something that Charlie Harper would say to his brother, Allen.

 

It isn’t any wonder, then, that my children grew up thinking dear old mom was a little on the shaky side.  During one particular conversation in which I should have probably been a bit more sympathetic to the plight with which my son was dealing, my muse jumped in and made me say... “There’s nothing so bad that couldn’t be worse from the day you are born till you ride in a hearse.”  Now this is an old adage that my grandmother use to say when anyone had a frivolous complaint.  I never could explain what made me spout that statement except to blame it on my muse!

 

Over the past sixty years I have written a great many poems, and I have been most fortunate to have had lots of them published.  I like to think that most of these poems are inspiring, heart warming, and deeply touching words to sooth the soul.  But there are those that began as sentimental offering, only to become a witty ditty which turns my work into a comedy of errors.

 

I honestly do try to ignore my muse most of the time.  It’s difficult because she has such a way with words.  She can convince me in a New York minute that her thoughts and words are far more interesting than my own.  And I do have to give her credit for helping me get published in a book celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Red Hat Society.

 

Perhaps my muse finds me amusing, but between the two of us, we haven’t done too badly after all.