Inspiration

A simple reflection on the movement of inspiration. (Image is part of an oil painting by my husband Len Kesling.)

It comes when you least expect it
In the song of a bird
A gentle stream by a deserted beach
Or the weathered face of an old man

You paint, write, cry
Trying to hold on to its fleeting nature
Expressing how it has touched
Some hidden or forgotten part of you

A brilliant thought sparkles up
From the depths of dark gray matter
In a heartbeat it is whisked away
To another mind, another time

You entreat it to stay in that mere moment
You take a picture in words that cannot capture it
You paint wildly before it disappears
You mutter to yourself trying to remember
Like you do when a dream has faded out of reach

But these shooting stars are not frozen
for you to study and understand
Ever moving, changing
Blending with the world around you
They are part of a creation
that is not yours to own.

Author's Note

Just some random thoughts on inspiration, which brings up to me the question: is anything we write or paint ours to own? What is our addiction to owning land, air, water, possessions, sentient creatures, each other, art?

Reviews

[Saria Lon]

I absolutely love this. It's difficult to express something as abstract as inspiration successfully, and you definitely succeeded here. "From the depths of dark gray matter" - I love that. Vivid imagery, wistful, beautiful, and I really like the last stanza, very thought-provoking.
I never thought about that, how our thoughts and inspirations might not be ours to own... no matter how original we feel sometimes, it all comes from the same place. Very interesting!! :)

[Marianne Rose]

Thank you so much! Even writing about abstractions like inspiration feel like they come from somewhere else.i appreciate your reflections and that you liked that dark gray matter line- that came out of nowhere- just wrote itself on the page, so can't take credit, except maybe for letting my hand write it! Your review is very encouraging and appreciated!

[Inject Positivity]

I'm just a medium of expressing it, like a radio that catches signals and expresses it through the speaker... I just feel it through my mind what this universe wants me to feel and just write it down... It's not that I create it, it's nature's creation and I'm just her worker... I truly agree with you, by the way I have never thought about it but through you and your poem my views about inspiration has forever changed...

Your topics are unbelievable, touching and truly worth reading and I'm humbled to get to read this...

Sincerely
Dhiman

[Marianne Rose]

Yes-- exactly, well said. It's so satisfying that you get my writing and take it in, reflect on it for your own process, and articulate it so beautifully. You are a gift to me! And to many others . . . My radio goes wild sometimes tuning to so many different stations it can be hard to move the dial slightly this way and that to get one station, coming through clearly so I can hear it. When the radio is out of the pick-up zone, then I just write what I feel, deep inside, more a story about me- like "Just another day in the USA" posted after exposure to the news of this week's violence. But sometimes the message from the radio is as new to me as others, a gentle word of guidance on my attitudes or actions. Thanks for being here and continuing to read what I post.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i feel exactly this way about inspiration and my own poetry...it is not "my own" --it is like i rent it...i am a conduit, the words come and i write them down like mad, feeling gratified to have the inspiration in the first place---but no. we don't own the inspiration---we borrow it----

so well expressed here.

j.

[Marianne Rose]

Thank you so much J., you express exactly what I experience. Your reviews are always so affirming and connecting. Thank you!

[Peter Rogerson]

I fully appreciate what you mean, the random switches that can turn us on.

[Marianne Rose]

Yes, it can be anything, can't it? A leaf blowing in the wind, the face of a child, another poet's words that spark continuation of a theme.mthank you for reading and appreciating the message.