There it is: just in range of your hands.
Reach out and grab it before it disappears.

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing”;
Words need both in large amounts
To bloom, to grow, to spread
Across desert pages, turning desolate wastes
Into lush wildflower meadows.

You will never know how fertile
Your soul is until you plant
Seeds in it and allow them to prosper.

Do not force them, but give them
Room to breathe, leave them to grow
While you are looking elsewhere,
Allow them the space they need
To take their natural form.

And when they burst forth in beauty,
In riotous colour, do not ignore them:
Give them their moment in the Sun
And commit it to posterity.

They are grown in you, and from you,
And they are part of you. Treat them
As you would your best friend, because
They will always be there for you.

If you open the door when
Inspiration knocks, you will receive the gift
Of words. And if you have words,
You will never be alone.

08/29/2016

Author's Note: The line in quotation marks is by John Ruskin, and can be found on a series of murals upstairs in the Malt Cross pub in Nottingham, UK. For many years, I have found the Malt Cross to be the best place in Nottingham to sit and write.

Posted on 10/08/2016
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