A poet is paid a pittance.
This will not come as news.
One seldom dwells on remittance
when engaged with a lively muse.
A poem can take minutes or weeks.
It can live in the back of the brain.
There are valleys and glorious peaks
when the words start to rumble and rain.
A poet needs paper and pen,
or the thoughts may skitter away—
never to return again
and enliven another day.
Pat D’Amico is a columnist with Northwest Prime Time, sometimes a Sharing Stories author, and sometimes a poet.
SHARING STORIES is a weekly column for and about the 50 plus crowd living in the Puget Sound region. Send your stories and photos to ariele@comcast.net. Tell local or personal stories; discuss concerns around aging and other issues; share solutions, good luck, and reasons to celebrate; poems are fine too. Pieces may be edited or excerpted. We reserve the right to select among pieces. Photos are always a plus and a one-sentence bio is requested (where you live, maybe age or career, retired status, etc.).
SHARING STORIES is featured on www.northwestprimetime.com, the website
for Northwest Prime Time, a monthly publication for baby boomers, seniors, retirees, and those contemplating retirement. For more information, call 206-824-8600 or visit www.northwestprimetime.com. To find other SHARING STORIES articles on this website type "sharing stories" or a writer’s name into the search function above.