Have you ever written a poem?

My experience composing a poem, although fleeting, was laced with emotional, dramatic karma amid complex times. I was never a poetry reader. I assumed poetry to be arduous work but in my case it came quickly and it made a profound difference to my life events. It made me think.

I learned that poetry is never premeditated. It’s cause and effect. It happens when you least expect. It’s in the most trying stages we discover words that matter. How does that happen? 

Who knew, when you land on a step, struggling to solve a life puzzle, and in need of moving forward, that poetry could be part of the equation? Then comes that ah-ha moment. 

Words that stream together tie back into the life puzzle, providing a brief encounter with a powerful statement. Eureka!

                                                            ~~~

Tall Mast happened on a winter venture in February 2021. The wind was harsh and snow pelted down, but I was lost in a thought-provoking mood. I needed a spur.

As I walked, I played with the idea of writing a poem about GOM. Suddenly the phrase, "the snow crashed into me" caught my attention. I linked the idea to sailing a tall ship, being the master of my own destiny and voila the poem began. 

Ideas continued to flow as I captured rhyming phrases on my phone. Over the next couple of walks I carried a pencil and paper and created additional pieces I could tie in. At home I pulled the phrases and documented the bits and pieces together to craft my words into a poem. 

                                                           ~~~

My cousin Molly provided guidance on the art of writing poetry. “When it comes, write it all down, then let it lie.” Sage advice. Molly is one of the fortunate people who has experienced the art of poetry throughout her life. She told me poetry can’t be engineered it has to happen organically. In the literary world, contrivance kills.

Holistic composition over predetermined creation, I like that.  I am free to listen and consume the words and apply them at my will.

Could M.S. Molly be my ship?

                                                          ~~~

Tall Mast is about the writing of Goal Organization Motivation. I include it at the end of the book simply because it happened, and I felt it’s meaning. I love the idea of utilizing language in a format that can be a puzzle. 

The goal is to articulate the act of writing GOM in a simple yet complex way. Complex, in that, a couple of words may require deeper investigation. It is organized to flow through the evolution of the experience and writing of GOM over a vast span of time. 

The poem crashed into me. I was beginning to relax and visualize the realization of a tangible giveback. My motivation was finding the conclusion to the preparation of publishing the manuscript.

Set sail on your journey of life. GOM-it.