Writers are like stargazers
searching an imaginary sky
for distant galaxies of meaning and metaphor–
trusting that somewhere beyond the dark matter–
of our own memory and imagination
there is a something waiting to be seen.
We must cultivate unshakeable faith–
so that we can be like the astronomers who trust
that beyond the glimmer of a billion years lies astonishment.
We must believe that beyond the disappointment
of our failed experiments,and our unfinished drafts,
beyond the storms and the turmoil of our own fear and shame
beyond the judgements of others–
there is something that can only be imagined–
a story– poem– a painting that only we can tell.
