Waiting for Inspiration | Teen Ink

Waiting for Inspiration

April 14, 2012
By beautifulspirit PLATINUM, Alpharetta, Georgia
beautifulspirit PLATINUM, Alpharetta, Georgia
35 articles 0 photos 1398 comments

Favorite Quote:
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.<br /> --Eleanor Roosevelt


4:23 AM
is what my watch reads
Twenty three minutes late...
Where is she?

This is maddening,
waiting for Inspiration.
Honestly, I don't
know how anyone does it
Who does she think she is?
I mean, yes she's Inspiration
but what gives her the right?

4:25 AM
*Sigh*
I wonder if Steinbeck,
Rowling, or Neruda
had to deal with this
Prima Donna and her
incessant tardiness.
It feels as if I've spent
half my life, just
waiting for Inspiration.

4:28 AM
Maybe I should just give
on her completely---
she always comes
last minute anyway.
Always on her schedule,
never my own.

I'm like a dog at her
feet, begging for scraps--
her tantalizing me with
bursts of creativity
to influence my art.

4:33 AM
My thoughts get
more jumbled and
messy by the second.
As of now, I can feel
my brain losing
its basic functions.
My fingers fidget over
the pen and paper,
itching to get started.

Is she a blessing or a curse?

4:36 AM
Sometimes I just want to
break down her door,
drag her by the hair,
make her sit across,
and force her to
make me sound
thoughtful,
astute, or even
comprehensible.

Curse this being for her power!

So many writers, musicians,
and artists depend upon her,
waiting for her magic...

4:42 AM
Okay, okay so you
gotta give Inspiration
a bit of a break.

It's not like she's God---
who else can be in
two places at once?


It's like she's the Sandman
with the never ending task of
putting the world to sleep.
If everyone was tearing
away at me, constantly
wanting my attention,
I'd go mad.

Now, I feel a little
sorry for Inspiration.

4:49 AM
But not that sorry
she still lacks the decency
to call when she's late.

My fingers have stopped
their fidgeting, and
have now started
doodling stick figures.

That’s all I got.
Pretty soon the sun will
rise, and all I will have
are disfigured people...

5:15 AM
Moved on to
drawing rabbits.
The birds have begun
to sing and my alarm
is about to go off.

My room is stifling me.

You know, I’m starting
to think she’s not coming.

5:30 AM
You know what?
It doesn’t even matter
at this point.

My fingers rub the sleep
from my eyes and
rake my wild hair.
Outside, the birds
have choir practice.
Are they laughing at me?

5:42 AM
I hear Mom get up,
slight clatter in the kitchen,
my alarm sounds
I get up to turn it off,
irritated at being disturbed.

Inspiration, I’ll get you for this.

5:50 AM
I pose like the Thinker
and hope for something.

I’m feeling desperate...

5:53 AM
The smell of sausage
wafts upstairs to my room.

My sister yells that
breakfast is almost ready.

5:57 AM
I pace uncontrollably

All that time I spent
waiting for Inspiration...

6:00 AM
Hey, I think I found
something to write about!

Just called Inspiration
---turns out, I don't
need her after all.


The author's comments:
Well, in general everyone waits for inspiration to come to them. So I thought, what if inspiration was a person? Death is a common personification in literature, so why not inspiration?

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JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 26 comments.


on Jul. 22 2013 at 12:06 pm
writefearless SILVER, Manila, Other
8 articles 0 photos 48 comments

Favorite Quote:
scare your fear before it scares you.

very witty. love the personification :)

on Jun. 17 2013 at 12:12 pm
beautifulspirit PLATINUM, Alpharetta, Georgia
35 articles 0 photos 1398 comments

Favorite Quote:
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.<br /> --Eleanor Roosevelt

Thanks I wanted to write about the struggles all writers face:)

on Jun. 17 2013 at 10:16 am
Laugh-it-Out PLATINUM, Brooklyn, New York, New York
38 articles 0 photos 445 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light&quot; --Dylan Thomas

Amazing job. This was funny, lighthearted and sweat and something we ALL can relate to. Beautiful story. Keep writing and rockin

on Mar. 12 2013 at 10:48 pm
beautifulspirit PLATINUM, Alpharetta, Georgia
35 articles 0 photos 1398 comments

Favorite Quote:
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.<br /> --Eleanor Roosevelt

Thanks so much :-)

on Sep. 23 2012 at 11:47 am
CelebrateDifferences, Long Island, New York
0 articles 0 photos 71 comments

Favorite Quote:
&ldquo;Gods of Olympus.&rdquo; Piper stared at Leo. &ldquo;What happened to you?&rdquo;<br /> His hair was greased back. He had welding goggles on his forehead, a lipstick mark on his cheek, tattoos all over his arms, and a T-shirt that read HOT STUFF, BAD BOY, and TEAM LEO.<br /> &ldquo;Long story,&rdquo; he said.&rdquo;

I was hooked form the first sentence. Great work!

on Apr. 26 2012 at 6:10 am
beautifulspirit PLATINUM, Alpharetta, Georgia
35 articles 0 photos 1398 comments

Favorite Quote:
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.<br /> --Eleanor Roosevelt

Thanks for that~

 


Shivam GOLD said...
on Apr. 26 2012 at 3:30 am
Shivam GOLD, Lucknow, Other
19 articles 0 photos 87 comments

Favorite Quote:
Its nothing like nothing or all.. its just that how far you climb up the tree before you fall..

probably one of the most unique concepts on this site. beautifully done.......

on Apr. 25 2012 at 1:16 pm
beautifulspirit PLATINUM, Alpharetta, Georgia
35 articles 0 photos 1398 comments

Favorite Quote:
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.<br /> --Eleanor Roosevelt

Thanks for your comment~

Critter10 said...
on Apr. 25 2012 at 9:49 am
Critter10, Roanoke, Virginia
0 articles 0 photos 10 comments
This poem is great, it's so different yet really cool. Totally relatable. Only thing is that the flow took a while to get into to, but once you get into the poem, it's quite good.

on Apr. 24 2012 at 3:13 pm
snowleopard100 PLATINUM, New York City, New York
33 articles 1 photo 80 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, but I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.&quot;

Definitely a fair response. I don't know... I guess both ways work in the end (this certainly did!!)

on Apr. 24 2012 at 2:55 pm
beautifulspirit PLATINUM, Alpharetta, Georgia
35 articles 0 photos 1398 comments

Favorite Quote:
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.<br /> --Eleanor Roosevelt

Interesting~ Honestly, I did think about describing how Inspiration looks. But I felt that by not doing so, I would be adding to her mystery or something---like an abstract figure in the writing process. I didn't want the reader to lose sight of the poem's meaning. But thanks for suggesting it!

on Apr. 24 2012 at 2:46 pm
snowleopard100 PLATINUM, New York City, New York
33 articles 1 photo 80 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, but I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.&quot;

Probably one of the most original poems I've read in a while. I love the simple language that the character uses and the intervals of Time. My only advice would perhaps be to elaborate more on your personification of inspiration (looks, personality, etc.) because it's such a cool idea and is intriguing to read about. But...in a word, AWESOME

on Apr. 24 2012 at 12:29 pm
beautifulspirit PLATINUM, Alpharetta, Georgia
35 articles 0 photos 1398 comments

Favorite Quote:
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.<br /> --Eleanor Roosevelt

Thank you for reading!

on Apr. 24 2012 at 12:28 pm
beautifulspirit PLATINUM, Alpharetta, Georgia
35 articles 0 photos 1398 comments

Favorite Quote:
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.<br /> --Eleanor Roosevelt

Thanks for commenting~

on Apr. 24 2012 at 12:27 pm
beautifulspirit PLATINUM, Alpharetta, Georgia
35 articles 0 photos 1398 comments

Favorite Quote:
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.<br /> --Eleanor Roosevelt

Thanks---I wanted the reader to get into the mindset of the speaker, making the poem seem more relatable.

on Apr. 24 2012 at 12:24 pm
Smile-And-Wave-Boys. SILVER, Rotherhithe, Other
8 articles 1 photo 38 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Everyone wants to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.&quot; <br /> &mdash; Oprah Winfrey

I really like this. As others said, it's very relatable-that was a brilliant idea to personify inspiration. The thought track just adds to it. Well done, keep writing!

on Apr. 22 2012 at 6:15 pm
Evagline.Brisa.Wilder GOLD, Collegeville, Pennsylvania
16 articles 0 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.&quot; <br /> -Albert Einstein

I loved the entire thing and the idea of it all. I like the time added. I can tell you put a lot of time into it. I can not wait to see another one.

Taconut7 GOLD said...
on Apr. 20 2012 at 3:26 pm
Taconut7 GOLD, Cohasset, Minnesota
17 articles 1 photo 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life&#039;s challenges are not to bring you down, they are to help you become a stronger and better person! -Me<br /> <br /> &quot;If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will forever live its life believing it is stupid.&quot; - Albert Einstein

This made me laugh because I know exactly what you are talking about! I loved how you added the comedy in it.

on Apr. 19 2012 at 6:12 am
beautifulspirit PLATINUM, Alpharetta, Georgia
35 articles 0 photos 1398 comments

Favorite Quote:
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.<br /> --Eleanor Roosevelt

Yeah, I wanted the poem to seem like the speaker's thoughts in the span within two hours. Thanks for commenting~

on Apr. 18 2012 at 10:39 pm
bearsfan654 SILVER, Elmhurst, Illinois
7 articles 8 photos 47 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Feb 20, 1962, The USA launches John Glenn into Earth orbit. Something America could do fifty years ago.... but not today.&quot; - Neil deGrasse Tyson

Awesome job! I loved the description and hard work you put into this, as well as the comedy. However, what I loved most was definitely the style. Putting the time before the stanza made it seem as if we were reading the narrator's diary or mind! Great job!