My brother-in-law gave me a book today...The Book of Living Verse. I've already read at least half of the poets in it, some on my own when I was in high school, in my basement bedroom, sitting up at night when I was supposed to go to bed early to get up for school in the morning; some in my high school English classes, where I enjoyed demonstrating my talent for poetry interpretation to my less gifted classmates; and some when I went to the university and took the classes that eventually comprised my Master's Degree in English literature. I used to be inspired by poetry. But as the years went on, and the only writing I could sell (most of the time) was writing I couldn't even put my name to, writing for businesses where someone else took credit for what I wrote, and as the rejections of what I really wanted to write came in (sometimes pouring in, sometimes dribbling in) I quit writing poetry and reading it, and eventually I quit writing altogether a couple of years ago. I've gone from writing every day to not writing anything for 2 years.
A severe and possibly terminal case of writer's block.
This gift, however, gave me an idea.
I wondered if reading a poem a day, and collecting my thoughts on it and putting them down, might inspire me to take up my love of writing once more.
I figured it was worth a try.
What have I got to lose?
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