Friday, May 20, 2011

The Persevering Pen

Born a scribe and given the gift to pen,
She dreams of painting stories with her words-

Masterpieces that entertain, elicit laughter,
          Even tears.
Portraits of adventure and beauty
The medium of words pointing to the
          Master Storyteller.

Her dream is pure while she is small
She writes on scraps and in notebooks-
Lists of characters with fancy names, fragments of plotlines and
          Fantasy places.
Mere scratchings of a little girl
The simple, innocent words revealing
          Sweet Dreams.

Growing older, and tasting life,

She clings to her pen but doubts her words-
Voices from within and without, voices of truth,
          Voices of lies.
Messages of ‘not enough’ and ‘too hard’ bombard
The world and her fear invite her to quit before
          She Fails.

Born a scribe and given the gift to pen,

She writes through the fear and the failures words that-
Sometimes fall flat, sometimes soar high, but always come from
          Her Heart.
Running the race marked out for her she remembers
The One who gave her the pen and calls
         
          Press On.



 
I wrote this poem today for a contest Rachelle Gardner (literary agent) is hosting on her blog.  I think she was looking for something a lot lighter and with more humor, but this was what came out of me today.  I decided to share it on here, too, because I know a lot of you share my dream for writing, and that others of you have your own dreams.  I just wanted to encourage us all to not let voices of doubt or fear keep us from running after the dreams God has written on our hearts.  I need this message as much as all of us.  : )  
 
Have a wonderful weekend!  
 
Love,  

8 comments:

Siri Paulson said...

Hi, Becky! You don't know me, but I followed you over from Rachelle Gardner's blog to say thank you for your beautiful poem. It really spoke to where I am right now, oscillating between your third and fourth stanzas and wondering what happened to that earlier innocent joy of writing. Thank you again, and don't give up!

(I don't have a blog yet, but I'm on Twitter, @Siri_Paulson, if you're interested in connecting further. If not, no worries!)

Rachel Beran said...

Great poem, Becky! Keep writing...God has given you a gift for sure. :)

Unknown said...

This was a pleasure to read. Honest and encouraging. I wish well-written verses flowed from me like you JUST so I could tell you how much I enjoyed it. :)

Sally Jo said...

Good job Babe! You're a winner.

Mom

Anonymous said...

Great poem, Becky. :) thanks for sharing~

Happy M. LaShelle said...

oops - that's me anonymous ;)

Mama Mimi (Dana) said...

I am normally not a fan of poetry. Never have been. But this one really touched me. It flowed so well and made so much sense to me. It evoked alot of emotion and told a wonderful story. Very well done Becky. Not that I an a literary critic.
Aunt Dana

bristowmom said...

For some reason I haven't been to your blog in a long time. But I checked back today. I love this poem - LOVE it! And I'm not a writer so I don't love it because I empathize, I simply think it is beautiful.