for Poets United
note: this is my own version of a concrete poem; a wobbly T representing the tightrope that is life, we have to balance.
On Writing and Living…
for Blogging Around with Rommy
I once tried clog dancing. Ah no, wait! It was actually line dancing. See I can’t even tell the difference. 🙂 I don’t doubt though that clog dancing is a great form of exercise. But I tell you, nothing gets the heart racing like walking the tightrope.
One of the techniques needed to walk on a tightrope is to mount the line on one foot with a friend sitting on the line. I read all this from somewhere, of course, I’m not a professional tightrope walker.
Life is a balancing act. Finding that balance can be elusive at times. But I learned from early on that I don’t have to do life alone.
In my support system, I have words. Words are my friends, I trust them with my confidences. I’m talking here about the simple act of journalling.
With January days full and flustered, juggling all sorts, I found myself reaching for an old notebook as I tried to clear out clutter from the shelves. In that notebook, I came across one long forgotten draft that made me laugh till my stomach hurt.
It’s a draft of an absolute rubbish story that was inspired by frustrated jottings I had put down in my journal. Someone else might not necessarily find the story funny. But it’s a story where I poke fun at myself. I wrote it in first POV and as a male protagonist whose occupation is writing. I’ll stop there…
But rereading this story reminded me that I actually write to entertain myself first, before I worry about the reader. That’s a real good feeling. It takes off the pressure to perform and puts joy back into the creative process.
This is how I walk the tightrope…with words to catch me, if I fall.
