Poetry Friday & Day 25 SOL 16: Night Writer
how I envy thee;
with your ability
to find words
as the stars
illuminate the sky.
You've spent
your day collecting:
stories,
phrases,
moments.
Wrapping them
in the pages
of your notebook
as your day settles.
I'm a morning writing.
Though I try,
my words
don't rise with the moon.
It seems I must carry them
into my dreams, where they
toss,
grow,
multiply.
My song plays
as the sun rises.
Words find their way
to the paper
as the world awakens:
the chickadee chirps,
the robin sings,
the finch flits about,
as I tap away
composing stories
onto the page.
There are days
when I try
be a writer like you,
settling into
the blackness of night,
searching for words,
only to find
emptiness.
I'm a morning writer,
I require the light
to find words
as they hide,
to help me see
down the path,
to find the stories
resting in places
unknown.
Oh, night writer,
how I envy thee,
but I find comfort
knowing that you search
for words
on the other side
of night.
© Cathy L. Mere, 2016
For the month of March I will be participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge hosted at Two Writing Teachers. It will be a busy month of writing, commenting, and learning with this community. Stop by today's link up to join the conversation or find some great reading.
It's Poetry Friday! Stop by My Juicy Little Universe where Heidi Mordhorst hosts today's parade of wondrous words.
It's Poetry Friday! Stop by My Juicy Little Universe where Heidi Mordhorst hosts today's parade of wondrous words.
Cathy, I always love reading your poems. They all speak the truth but make it colorful. I think I am a morning writer, but will have to pay more attention. Love your title, too! What can I say....your writing always speaks loudly to me. Jackie
ReplyDeleteYou've captured this so well! I am definitely a morning writer but the ideas flow all day long!
ReplyDeleteThis is so very beautiful. My favourite part: Though I try,
ReplyDeletemy words
don't rise with the moon.
It seems I must carry them
into my dreams, where they
toss,
grow,
multiply.
Cathy - this is so beautiful - I read as a poem for two voices in my head, I am not sure if that is how you intended it. This is my stanza:
ReplyDeleteMy song plays
as the sun rises.
Words find their way
to the paper
as the world awakens:
the chickadee chirps,
the robin sings,
the finch flits about,
as I tap away
composing stories
onto the page.
I too have been thinking about the time of day people post -- it is like two different communities. I have been trying to get back on at night to "meet" some new people, but I have fallen into a morning group of writers for sure. Thanks
Clare
What a gorgeous piece! I've been thinking about the timing of posts and writing as well--my goal is always to write in the morning but often I start a piece and it needs to percolate for too long so I end up posting more in the late afternoon or evening. I do love the idea of spending my day collecting pieces for a slice and then writing it, but too worried I wouldn't be able to finish!
ReplyDeleteI feel rhythm of writers' hearts in this poem. We need our minds to be clear and calm. Able to process the world. I need the impact of a day to stimulate my writing. Funny. I look at the day time writer with envy! Case of grass is always greener?
ReplyDeleteDifferent paths in quest of the same thing, right? Great poem, Cathy.
ReplyDeleteDifferent paths in quest of the same thing, right? Great poem, Cathy.
ReplyDeleteI'm all morning, too, but I think the writing (or thinking about writing) takes place overnight some nights.
ReplyDeleteKevin
It feels like every March that we follow a rhythm of when, and keep it going. I write most easily at night, enjoy reading posts more in the morning. I love how you captured the differences. And now I wonder how this fits our students? What rhythm works best for them, and do they get to choose because of homework, lessons, etc.? Thanks Cathy.
ReplyDeleteI love this--my poem today was written as I fell asleep on Thursday night, and I barely managed to get to the end of the second stanza! I'm usually a morning writer too, but I think there's a way that writing half asleep brings out a whole different voice or stance--it's simpler and clearer, maybe because I'm too tired to overdo it. It's a surprise to me about myself.
ReplyDeleteIt's all about perspective. As a night writer, I sometimes envy the morning writers, who compose when they're fresh, as the world awakens. The flaw with night writing is that when inspiration flows (as of course we always wish it would!) you write later and later, and...
DeleteOh, morning writer,
you write when worlds
awaken
and don't eat the sleep
that soon consumes
night writers
with fatigue.
This is absolutely beautiful, Cathy. I especially love those two last stanzas. Such great images of dark and light. I am totally a morning writer too. Not sure why every single post I have written this month has been written at night! :(
ReplyDeleteMy morning words and my middle of the night words often seem to speak with different voices. Maybe there are really two of me. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThat's funny, because I wish I didn't have to wait until the evening to write, but I've always been a night writer! Even when I was a little kid, I'd keep a flashlight & notebook under my bed to get out the words when they struck in the middle of the night!
ReplyDeleteCathy, I'm a morning writer, too! Thank you for sharing this lovely poem. xo
ReplyDelete