I Feel Like a Writer

 I feel like a writer. This summer has given us hours to spend in our studio, with Michael painting and me writing.  My last post included some segments on an essay I'm working on Why We Write.  I wish to send it in to Poets&Writers magazine so I requested a sooner-than-usual meeting with my mentor. We skyped, and she, being the archeologist she is, has me dig deeper. I love her ability to find the one line that works, even when it means that I must rewrite my entire essay.  Gigi, picked one line out of fifty-six and suggested to work off that. Of course I'm up for the challenge.  I can't go back to my original when she gives me a radical idea to try. Several hours more into this writing piece and I am still rewriting.  This is what writers must do to work their craft.  I've spent close to a year or more revising some of my poetry.  Some writing flows, some trickles, and some pours.

Days spent solely in our studio has meant we've missed a local concert or that movie we wanted to see, we forget to eat, or make phone calls, or paint the trim we keep putting off, but it reminds me of something the poet Mary Oliver once wrote.  She spoke of missing appointments and luncheons and asked not to be upset with her but to be happy that she must have been in a blissful state of being, of writing.

I stretch, and change positions, compose, and compose again. I am thankful for these summer days in our studio, with Michael by my side, and Ella playing on our phonograph. I can't imagine a happier way to live.

Happy writing!
~Bess