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The Witching Hour, a poem . . . and your Wednesday Writing Prompt

Poetry is not a profession, it is a destiny. Mikhail Dudan

Must be something about the witching hour,
magic after all, when from sound sleep I so
suddenly awake to the silent scratching and
rough shaking of a poem, uninvited but near
fully formed, dropping in from some unnamed
peculiar heaven or hell to disturb the languid
luxury of this rare blue somnolence. A poem from
neither the horn nor ivory gate that snatches me
from the welcome arms of Morpheus, from the land
of Demos Oneiroi, where I long – an elegant ache –
to return. I chew the poem like a baby new flavors,
trying to define shape and character, to hold the
memory intact until dawn when I can – perhaps –
name it. I … repeat it … repeating, repeating,
my mind wrapping itself around the words like my
arms the pillow, hugging their sensations, rolling
in the silk and nub and color, not willing to let go,
not able to sleep. In the chill before daybreak, I
give up and get up and taking the laptop in hand,
lay the words on a new page, ready post of the day.

© poem, 2011, Jamie Dedes, All rights reserved;  Artwork – Morpheus and Iris by Pierre-Narcisse Guérin, 1811

WEDNESDAY WRITING PROMPT

Catching a poem seems sometimes almost a mystical experience. Where did it come from?  And how often does it come at the most inconvenient time – when your trying to sleep, read, bath the baby, walk the dog. Pad and pen are constant companions. I’m not implying that it’s always easy to finish – to refine the poem – but sometimes it does come to us fully formed or nearly so. Tell us how you receive and experience your own poetry as an unexpected visitor, a surprise perspective or observation, a gift, or as a mystical thing … perhaps even as an occasional inconvenience.

All poems shared on theme will be published here next Tuesday. Deadline is Monday May 28 at 8 p.m. PDT. All are welcome – encouraged – to participate no matter the status of your career: novice,emerging or pro.  It’s about sharing your work and meeting other poets who may be new to you.

If it is your first time sharing your work for Wednesday Writing Prompt, please remember to email your photo and short bio to thepoetbyday@gmail.com to be shared along with your poem by way of introduction. Please don’t mail the poem. Share it or a link to it in the comments section below.

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