Photo: "The Writer" by Michael Hirst
Discovered a new-to-me and noteworthy poem today.
"Advice to writers" by Billy Collins
Even if it keeps you up all night,
wash down the walls and scrub the floor
of your study before composing a syllable.
Clean the place as if the Pope were on his way.
Spotlessness is the niece of inspiration.
The more you clean, the more brilliant
your writing will be, so do not hesitate to take
to the open fields to scour the undersides
of rocks or swab in the dark forest
upper branches, nests full of eggs.
When you find your way back home
and stow the sponges and brushes under the sink,
you will behold in the light of dawn
the immaculate altar of your desk,
a clean surface in the middle of a clean world.
From a small vase, sparkling blue, lift
a yellow pencil, the sharpest of the bouquet,
and cover pages with tiny sentences
like long rows of devoted ants
that followed you in from the woods.
Found at swissmiss, who got it from bobulate, who saw it in a tweet by robinsloan
There's real wisdom in this poetry, love the reference to a nest.
Posted by: book publishing | May 02, 2010 at 10:35 AM
book publishing -- Glad you enjoyed it.
Posted by: KG | May 03, 2010 at 02:24 PM