A Poet’s Life

By Tom Rodriguez

Writing poetry is damn hard work
Long hours and days of solitude
Patiently stringing words together
And toiling with a quiet fortitude

All alone with paper, pen and thoughts
Waiting for the poem that is trying to get born
Hoping this time I can lock it down
Instead of facing ridicule or scorn

Waiting for some inspiration
Praying for the words to come 
Afraid of getting writer’s block
Knowing I must overcome

Waking up each day 
Waiting for something to ignite my words
That is the curse of the poet
Always waiting for the magic words 

Striving everyday
Coping with the ordinary
Embracing the unknown
Trying to create the extraordinary

The world goes round and round
While I sit and toil all alone
Mining the recesses of my mind
Hoping to discover something yet unknown

For me there is no other way to work
I must be steadfast and committed to my art
If I want my work to live
And to have my poems set apart

Striving for the extraordinary is what poetry is all about
A place I never thought I’d go
But that is how the poet’s art lives on
And is the only way that it can grow

In the end that’s how poems get written
And if the poet is lucky he can finally rest
Because he tried and met the test
And gave it all his best