Muses

A jumble of lovey dovey ideas

I flip through a book of love poems
and wonder why your name is written
on every page
in ink so bold it bleeds into my skin
despite the letters crossing not a single poets’ lips

One called his lover his muse
as he wrote to her in a pen of rose dusted laughter
and a dozen moonlit kisses
and I can’t help but see you
smothered in the words

before you,
before us,
poetry was too stuffy
too long
too boring
and even now, my words come out thick as chalk
streaking against the pages in an endless effort to define you,
in a clumsy attempt to dip my pen in fine ink
and write you into dainty prose
and all that is not even to say that you’re dainty like a fine gold chain
or as a stream of glistening ink from a poet’s loving pen
rather than dainty like the smallest hint of a smile
dusting across dimpled cheeks
or the faint brush of your fingers on my skin

“I’ve heard this before”
is the frustrated mantra
I repeat
after every finished poem

I’ve heard it in the words of every song I come across
that echo your name
and in the pages of books
filled with love poems
that scream the insufferable truth that you, darling, are my muse

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

Our muse come, when they want. Like John Donne wrote. You don't find love. Love find you. I liked your dance of words and thoughts. Thank you for sharing the amazing poetry.
Coyote

[Zoe Richardson]

I think it is the curse of every writer to finish a poem and groan in frustration. We read it to ourselves and think, "This is truly awful!" But your words are not, as you put it, "thick as chalk." They are honest and eloquent. It is the subject that is ephemeral. Try as we might, love cannot be conveyed on the written page. It is fun to try, though!

[hazy]

That means a lot to hear. Thank you.

[Ken Simm.]

Excellent use of words in this sad and poignant love song. Yes muses tend to do all that.

[hazy]

Thank you so much!

[JustPlainHere]

There are so many wonderful descriptions in this, from ink so bold it bleeds into the skin, to words coming out as thick as chalk. It was a joy to read, and a lovely trip going from the narrator being the reader to the poet themselves.

[hazy]

Thank you so much!

[Cyprian Van Dyke]

First off, you educated me with the word, "Dainty", thank you for that.

Your poem was so wonderfully explained and expressed. So deep and explored, from the view of a writer and the reader. I so often wonder if what I write would be better off said in prose, simply because it's hard to write poetry, and many times I need to put it in bold font (chalk) to make it look different just to get it out in poetry after all. I hate writing poetry and I love it! LOL tyfs

[hazy]

Thank you for reading and commenting. I know what you mean--poetry can be frustrating, especially when everything you write feels clunky, but it's also such a freeing medium that I keep finding myself going back to it.

[Gee]

Your poetry is anything but clunky:)

[willweb]

I will say this, after reading and writing poetry for many years, the opening stanza of your piece is one of the best I have ever read. It was magical and it is the perfect portal to your poem of muses and inspiration and love and the desire to write the most perfect words ever written for the one you love. Amazing poetry.

[hazy]

I’m glad to hear it was so effective. Thank you very much for you review and kind words!

[AYVID N]

'as he wrote to her in a pen of rose dusted laughter'
Your poetry is very beautiful in its sheer imagery.
I find the concept of a muse very enticing in spirit. It appeals to our quest to reach the artistically divine part of us.
This poem will stay with me.

[hazy]

Thank you very much!

[.]

I personally find the idea of muses constantly overused and overrated; it is the domain of great artists that has been adopted by mere mortals in an effort to sound more poetic and be taken more seriously. I much prefer the term 'inspiration'. It's less pretentious and more truthful.

You can never write enough poems for your 'inspiration'. They may sound all the same at the end but anyone should be lucky to have poetry written exclusively for them. The ungrateful do not deserve any words, otherwise.

I enjoyed your poem. Well written and your feelings come through completely.

[hazy]

That’s an interesting take on it. I suppose “inspiration” is a better description, but I prefer “muse,” even if it’s a little pretentious. I find it very flowery, which serves my purpose as a dreamer who can’t quite make it back down to earth. Thank you for your kind words.