Dec 10, 2009 20

Poetry Thursday: Why I write

I have written well and wretchedly,
in crayon and ink,
with bombast and aplomb
and fear underneath.

I have written on the tops of toilet seats
from the depths of despair
and in glass-walled buildings
while my soul was asleep.

I have written for praise
and for dolls
and for cash
and for naught.

I have written for the stage
and The Man
and the screen
and the hell of it.

I wrote
because it is what I was taught
and how I was wired
and why I might be here.

But I write
because it is the only way
I know how to sing.

xxx
c

Image by woodleywonderworks via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

Tagged as: Poetry Thursday, writing

Posted in: The Personal Ones

{ 20 comments }

Positively Present December 10, 2009 at 4:05 am

OMG, this one really spoke to me today. As a writer, I can totally relate to this. “It is the only way I know how to sing”… WOW. That’s just so awesome!

Elly December 10, 2009 at 4:56 am

“…the only way I know how to sing”. That’s it, that’s it exactly. Thank you!

Marion Driessen December 10, 2009 at 5:41 am

Dear Colleen,

I simply LOVE the end!!

Dutchie greetz,
Marion

Lindsey December 10, 2009 at 5:44 am

this is gorgeous.
thank you.

Carolyn Broughton December 10, 2009 at 5:45 am

Your ‘singing’ helps us all find our own voice.

Juan Carlos December 10, 2009 at 7:26 am

I agree with everyone before me…This is BEAUTIFUL. Simple, but at the same time deep and with heart and sould into it. Thank you, thank you. What a great way to start my Thursday December 10th.

LOVE IT!!!!!

michaelyn December 10, 2009 at 7:27 am

If I could only buy my very own copy of ‘The Collected Poems of Colleen Wainwright’, then I wouldn’t have to keep printing them out every Thursday. Plus I’d be helping save a tree or two, wouldn’t I?

Juan Carlos December 10, 2009 at 7:29 am

I agree with everyone before me. This is BEAUTIFUL. It is simple, but at the same time, deep, and, with heart and soul into it. Thank you, thank you. What a great way to start my Thursday December 10th.

LOVE IT!!!!

Juan Carlos

Suzanne Silk December 10, 2009 at 7:47 am

Touched a chord…to be sure.
Enjoy the Season….Suzanne

Nell December 10, 2009 at 8:24 am

Colleen, Your poems are wonderful. You have an amazing gift. Keep sending them! And your other writing is great too! Keep it going!

Debbe Hirata December 10, 2009 at 9:37 am

You are magnificent.

Kare Anderson December 10, 2009 at 9:43 am

You have written your way into the hearts of many,
including me, sweet C, because you take your “particular”
into our “universal” …
In so doing you write “right” and timely in this holiday…..
Here’s mine in response to that sentiment:

Remember the many
compartments of the heart,
the seed of what is
possible. So much of who
we are is defined by
the places we hold for each
other. For it is not our ingenuity
that sets us apart, but our
capacity for love, the
possibility our way will
be lit by grace. Our hearts
prisms, chiseling out the
colors of pure light.

Jared Goralnick December 10, 2009 at 10:08 am

So lovely!

the communicatrix December 10, 2009 at 10:27 am

I’m noticing a pattern: the ones that seem to resonate the most are the ones that make me cry writing them.

Thank you, all, for the warm and generous notes. So very much appreciated.

Lucy December 10, 2009 at 11:22 am

Chiming in to say that I love this too. Thank you.

It made me think of one of my favorite songs, “Sing” by the Dresden Dolls, in all the right ways: http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/Sing/1543238.

Anne December 10, 2009 at 12:52 pm

Ah, once again … you are why I love Thursdays!

alisha December 10, 2009 at 1:29 pm

love the last stanza

Cheri Wicks December 13, 2009 at 1:08 pm

i love your thursday poems. I always skip over them on those weeks that I am behind and trying to plow through my emails – deleting things I might otherwise read and save them for times like now. Sunday afternoon when I am only mildly behind the eight ball and can really enjoy them. Thanks – Cheri