A Moment in the Life of a Poet

On a blank sheet of paper
I try to scribble a few words
My pen pauses instantly
My eyes quickly scroll down the page
I find myself ripping that paper apart
Jumbling it spontaneously
And adding it to a collection of similar pages
Scattered randomly beneath my chair

I take another sip of tea
It’s now cold as ice

Where are my words?
They’re imprisoned by darkness
In deep dungeons in the back of my head

The bottle of ink stands before me
Daring me to free them
Daring me to be heroic

I grab another sheet of paper
I reach for my pen
And accidentally hit the ink bottle
It spills
A big blue shiny puddle
Now occupies the blank sheet

My words are liberated!
I can see them swimming joyfully
Splashing and swirling in the puddle
I smile
My words are now free…

-Mariam A.