Letter to a friend
Writing takes courage. Reading out loud in public takes courage. Standing up and being counted takes courage. We grow used to it as we go along, and slowly we grow more courageous. But from time to time we all have doubts about our creative abilities and our poetic self-worth. And those first steps are very painful, especially if we ‘expose’ our inner being for public viewing.
Writing doggerel doesn’t take courage. Standing up and reading doggerel is easy. It’s easy because it doesn’t matter. When you take your life in your hands, dip a pen into it, and squeeze red blood onto the page, then you are taking part in a courageous act, one that defines you and throws you out there, naked before the world. That takes courage. It takes courage precisely because it matters: you are creating poetry that expresses the authenticity of your being.
Poetry, well written, well thought out, brings those seemingly small existential realities home to us all, both as readers and as writers. That is why writing and reading poetry is so important, especially in this seemingly non-poetic world. It is our task, as poets, to bring back the creativity and to challenge all those who would devour our souls in the name of nihilism and nothingness.
Sometimes the smallest acts are the most courageous … but we don’t always realize that. The continuation, day to day, of those actions that keep us alive is supreme bravery. To live is to be brave, especially when we age. Old age is not for cowards.
Small steps, small acts, small journeys, a step at a time, a word at a time, a poem at a time. Be courageous in all those tiny little things: one day, you will be ready to take the plunge and to step courageously into the wide and spacious ocean of the greater unknown that surrounds us.
May stepping stones, constructed from poetry, lead you safely on.
rogermoorepoet 
Just took a moment now to read this wisdom. Thanks. -j
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
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Thanks, Jan. I am having a great time at present, writing away, and taking a creative writing course at U of Toronto (online). Lots of writing and even more thinking. Our strange winter weather has given me plenty of time to sit and think.
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Well said, Roger.
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You are one brave man.
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Thank you, Ana. There are braver people than me around … standing strong and carrying on a relatively normal life in spite of the daily battles they must fight … and we can name some of them …
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I love this, Roger, especially the idea of the writer bleeding words onto the page. That is when we know our pens are cutting deep lines.
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Thank, Tanya. It’s the poetry that flows from deep within … you know what I mean, because you have written many such poems yourself. Many beginning poets are frightened by the feelings that well up from those depths. The ‘fear of writing’ has to be fought along with the fear of standing up and reading. There is so much we are afraid of …
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I agree. I think is all a part of that daily battle of write/rewrite/express that can be exhilarating and scary.
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