This morning has been a wonderful lazy Saturday. For the first time in months, I actually slept until nine o’clock which amazed me completely. Of course, the last time I looked at the clock when i finished writing it was 3:45 in the morning, so I guess sleeping in was something that was a direct result of my muse keeping me up until the wee hours of a new day.
Right now my writing has taken on a life of its own. The routine, the schedule that naturally occurred during my time off for Winter Break has been disrupted once that time ended. Finding time to write is not really a struggle because I will write regardless of the hour. Having a scheduled time, an uninterrupted hour or two for just me alone with my muse, my music and my writing is a catch as catch can affair. Thus, the writing in the middle of the night last night after having slept a few hours.
This morning, I had the luxury of returning to that schedule that occurred so naturally for me when I had two weeks to myself. My Writing Practice was open and flowing, leading me to read some more of my friend Kathi Appelt’s poetry when I finished.
This quote from her book Just People spoke to me this morning as I reread the poems included in this book used to teach middle and high school student writing.
“Writing begins with the small crystal, the grain of sand that grows and becomes something larger, something like a pearl, something with shape and purpose and meaning.”
That is exactly how I view my daily Writing Practice. Always, from one or both of them I have a tiny nugget, a kernel, something that tugs at my heart that must be explored further. Usually this takes the form of micropoetry, but lately, flash fiction has become the vehicle for that small crystal to develop into a pearl.
Below is her poem Fields:
Alone on my grandmother’s quilt
in the grassy field behind her house
cotton-thin
spun
I lie in a field of stars
sliver-thin
spinning.
Kathi Appelt
Quilts have always been an important part of my life. I had several that were made my by maternal grandmother that I called my own. They were my comforting friends when I was sick, kept me warm on cold winter nights when the furnace was turned way down low, used for picnics, taken to the lake or the beach always a piece of my life.
My mother and I both quilted…taking fabric from our lives and turning it into things of beauty, works of art, fabric poetry that told a life story through color and pattern.
Today’s Musical Muse: Jesse Cook – The Blue Guitar Sessions
As Always – I wish you joy, peace, and happiness, but most of all I wish you LOVE.
As Ever, Annie
First Published 1/19/2013
Annie's Texas Musings 