Writers receive them
blank, unlined,
like snow that dares us
to mar its pristine surface.
They suggest we dash
our poems off in the white
heat of inspiration
instead of hacking them out
in fits and starts
with cross-outs, inserts,
spaces where invention fails.
Should we leave evidence
of so many second thoughts,
indecisions, hesitations,
grammatical indecencies?
Wisdom suggests we’re not
bad off scribbling
on scraps, the backs
of grocery bills or envelopes,
whatever’s handy,
easily tossed.
Sharon Scholl is a retired humanities teacher who convenes a poetry critique group and maintains a website, freeprintmusic.com, that gives free scores to small churches. Her chapbooks, Seasons, Unauthorized Biographies, and Summer’s Child are available via Amazon. Poems are current in Steam Ticket, Third Wednesday, and Pensive.
