All poets need a muse,
or so I'd like to think...
fortunately ( and maybe not...)
I have one
she has many names,
some I can say and some I can't
here I will call her...Jewell!
But I also I have begun to wonder
if the muse might need a poet?
Mine came into my life,
once than twice
and as it may appear
three and four more times...
a little like a wiff of smoke
floating in and out,
can't hold it or pin it down...
leaves a stinging mist
and my sight surprisingly cleared,
and enhanced!
Have written pages and pages
about this encounter,
rich, thought provoking poems
in a language that spills
from my fingers
in a sometimes painful wonderment.
She is difficult and challenging
in so many ways
and really?
She probably doesn't even deserve
a blog about her but
its an intriguing subject to ponder!
The first time we met was a blur,
a party of like people,
which passed quickly into memory,
never thought of again
until a year later at the Humane Society
Art of adoption Dinner
(now three years ago)
An event, I believe always attracts
a significant collection of people
at one table.
(so far, in seven years,
I haven't been wrong)
so she sits down accidentally
cause it "looks like a fun table"
little did she know how fun
and the moment for me
comes in like a shaft of light
with sirens that pitch loudly
"pay attention, pay attention
something important is at work here?"
Yikes, I have received messages
of energy
before but none quite as loud as this
so I did and I felt immediately
'assigned' to this woman,
whether I liked it or not!
Assigned?
For a long time
I have subscribed
to the philosophy
of 'Sacred Contracts' by Carolyn Myss.
In my lifetime of spiritual research,
hers resonates with me
simply and profoundly!
Carolyn states and believes,
we "agree"
before coming to the planet
to help one another out
with particular lessons,
and we are assigned
by an agreement to meet
and assist,
and also that our souls before,
embarking to earth
are fractured into
a thousand pieces of light
and land in
that other souls 'backpacks of life,'
the way we know this
is when we meet someone
IF we feel an animation
of feeling either positive
or negative,
we have met a
glittering piece of our soul
in someone else
and we can expect the ride
to be nothing short
of true inspiration,
(maybe) painful
but an enlightened
magnificent encounter!
(IF... we are paying attention.)
It is a philosophy
FOR ME?... that works!
It's not for everyone!
The recognition of my light
in Jewell's backpack
was something I couldn't ignore
and (she would say)
I was relentless in
my determination to be her friend.
Tho, there was much comedy,
in our conversations,
It has also
at times brought me to my knees
in a journey of supreme rawness!
Muses!
What are they
and how did they come to be?
I looked it up and wow,
many thru history
and debates about
the mythical Greek muses,
nine or three?
Not interested in
reporting a history lesson here
but some also seem to think
it's our inner voice,
(well, hell I have way too many
of those)
What about the real life ones?
Yet, I was disappointed
in that particular research path.
Except...
in the movie 'Becoming Jane'
It is evident and revealing
that Thomas Lefroy,
is Jane Austens muse and inspiration
for the infamous, Mr. Darby
in Pride and Prejudice...
so I know I am in some
good historical, company here!
And in the movie Nine,
Daniel Day Lewis's character
has nine female muses... yikes!
(I am thinking,
one is hard enough...
thanks very much)
My time with Jewell,
spans an undetermined
amount of time
(spiritual and other wise)
has had the affect of
flooding me with words
and a rich language of great wit,
humor and dialogue,
adventures
of spiritual transformation
hidden in
the 'amazing and funny.'
For some reason,
(much to her dismay)
I felt compelled to record it all.
Notes for the great romantic comedy?
Possibly!
While she twisted me inside out
sent me sideways and upside down,
she also raised me up,
moved me in dramatic
and necessary directions,
offered many heightened lessons
in "becoming the sky,"
(see previous post)
and mostly,
taught me that although
I imagined myself drowning?
I was actually floating...
She, it seems, is my "learn
to love red" inspiration!
So here are my thoughts on
muse and poet...
Maybe every poet needs
a byline muse,
champion and demon,
inspiration and teacher,
the impossible
and necessary character
for pages, poems, stories
the instigator for the tragic
and comic scenarios,
that play out in an
outrageous display of
victories and loss,
inspiring the wild what ifs,
the offerings of ‘be patient,
be bold ' rampant.
Every poet/artist needs
the opposite of themselves
to force the border
of the unknown "maybe’s?"
towards a boundless sky.
But maybe?
The muse also needs a poet?
Someone/something
to fight against,
resist, reject!
to run from, to refuse
to push back and away...
something so connective
they can try but
it tips them
upside down and inside out
while being tiredly intrigued,
unable to truly hide for long.
Like bird and sky!
The bird cannot fly without the sky
and the sky can not be sky
with out the bird's need for flight!
Do you have a muse?
If you do
I hope your's is easier
(and nicer) than mine
but equally capable of
generating
the big words of wonder
maybe even that
great novel, sonnet
or love poem?
Despite all "their" trouble?
It's worth it!
Cause who is the poet without the muse?
Like Thelma without Louise?
Susanna without Lisa?
(Girl Interrupted,
Winona and Angelina)
The Cat without His Hat?
I for one,
would rather not know!
Pam Piper Rain
