Parchment and Pen

For all of us who write.

Taking comfort in the parchment of my life,

I push limits toward better things.

 

What power beyond our lives

decides if our smiles outnumber our tears?

It’s not for you or me to know. Our guesses are only guesses,

but we write,

learning from mistakes,

taking knowledge through the next door

with us as we go.

 

Take life’s credit card from me, please.

Don’t let me see the total I’ve spent

in minutes  

sighing against my lover’s ear,

staring at the sea to dream

or philosophize…

to love who I’ve loved and to remember that love…

Then to write of it…

 

 

 

“What a futile fool

To write of such things…to think…to dream…

            Peck-peck-pecking out words,

making chicken scratches on empty pages

like so many others.”

 

 

 

 

Fool I may be

That I’ve failed to learn the game, I suppose…

Did I not make a difference to anyone, you think?

Not skeptic, not stoic, not epicurean?

Does everything have to be bathed in obscurity

to be thought clever enough to earn your gold star?

 

My eyes must be blind

and my art a cage that must surely be a small one:

I learned its maze one inch at a time                  

by the feel of its edges that were once clean, and smooth,

and as sharp as any razor’s edge.

 

 

 

Suddenly,

unexpectedly,

the edges mocked me with flaked and uneven boundaries.

The new instructions you gave me were in a language I never learned.

I promise,

I felt each ridge

before I threw your list of foregone conclusions away.

 

I won’t bloody my fingers redefining myself or my writing

because in the end, writing is not an equation.

There is no cage.

There are no boundaries beyond the imagination and the page.

And we write…

Reviews

[Emily B]

So true. Is it about shiny gold stars or friendships and love of words?

Looking around the cafe lately I see a lot of sadness and frustration, I see turmoil and agitation. I don't think it is caused by the actual runnings of the cafe. We need to support one another now. Lend a hand to someone who needs one. The way your words, here, do.

[[untitled]]

Like Lydia I stopped to ponder the words : "Take life's credit card from me, please
don't let me see the total I've spent in minutes"
This is excellent writing but my favouite part of the poem falls within the first constructed prose which read " Did I not make a difference to anyone, you think?
not skeptic, not stoic, not epicurean ........."
To wish to make a difference is what makes you special !! best wishes, Bethlynne.

[pal]

wonderful way complimenting your friends u share with..
bravo
pal

[Pema Dorje]

A wondrous homage to writers and writing ... filled with passion and tears and blood we write with our pen and write again and again, writing not for wit 'nor fame but from a voice inside from which we proclaim, all of our wonder and awe writ in the lines of a page from our worthy journey, the eyes of our age!

[Lydia Shutter]

"Life's credit card" I had to stop to ponder that...what a concept! We have a credit limit in some regards, do we not? How we spend our time....is it graded and can we get extra credit? Hmmmm....wonderful! "There are no boundaries between the imagination and the page" Brilliant! You DO make a difference to people, never doubt it. As a writer, you are a special soul...and your poetry shines like a beacon. There is so much with which to identify here. Almost an anthem for writers. Mimi, this is supremely wonderful! Lydia

[*** Hey Jude***]

{{{ Mimi }}},
You have written an inspiring masterpiece with words that comes straight from the heart, I feel the emotions that you articulated so clearly in the first stanzas. Your writing always has such a healing, cathartic effect, and you have paid tribute beautifully to some writers that are way out of my league. I am so very honored to have been mentioned with such love and support. I agree with you with all the changes that take place at the Caf�', one thing we can count on are those true writers who are such a big part of our lives with their sprit of writing, in so many beautiful genre's. ~ Judi xo

[T. L. O'Neal]

This was great and a sweet sentiment to everyone here. The diversity of all the people here are like the numerous lights in the sky, and you Mimi are the brightest. T

[TL Boehm]

true words eloquently and strongly woven into a WC anthem. I am in awe of this one. I love the way it grows as it progresses...beautifully written. And I also know some of the stellar writers you mention....and I include you among them. Awesome poetry here.

[Chloe..Across the Unive..]

Loved this ..

"What a futile fool To write of such things�to think�to dream�
Peck-peck-pecking out words, making chicken scratches on empty pages like so many others."

I am no writer but i am learning from some great ones .. ones you mention and others also..
This is very inspiring and i enjoyed reading it .

Chloe
xoxo

[Imperfection]

The interesting title caught my attention. And as I read through it, I found myself absorbed in each word, every line...
This is such a lovely piece.

I won't bloody my fingers redefining myself or my writingbecause in the end, writing is not an equation.There is no cage.There are no boundaries beyond the imagination and the page.And we write�

I loved these lines.
Thanks so much for sharing it with me.

[Bubo]

This is truely a masterpiece.............perfectly stated, that how are we defined through our writing, how can we be caged and one given some silly star and another not? We all lay so much of ourselves here, in words, and our thoughts, dreams, and heart aches read by others, a second home for me, that we cannot be defined.
It's nice seeing the familiar tree, but it does not define a writer at all.
I thought this was such a great read.
Thank you for mentioning me , I am beaming............