This is my first submission to the Thursday Poets Rally and I may stumble in my ignorance. I wrote the below by chasing a stray thought and trying to pin it down. I hope it meets the criteria for the Rally.
PLAIN WHITE PAGE
by Mike Patrick
Flickr image by Samyell
The plain white page is not a threat;
As a challenge, it is perceived.
Tis only with the touch of ink
The emptiness can be relieved.
A poet’s muse demands the time
Before the empty, yearning page.
A sleepless night, the price we pay,
For something more than any wage.
The meter, rhyme and searched iambs
Sometimes combine in perfect thought.
And only then relieves the stress,
In beauty, as a poem wrought
A reader then completes the call
With any heart-felt praise at all.
At last, the poet can rest the quill
The plain white page did finely fall.
The Poet's Quill 
Oh my gosh, that was beautiful.
Welcome, welcome.
Plain things don’t stand out by themselves,well written!
superb writing..
welcome to poets rally…
simple rule: visit and comment for 18 poets, comment to let us know after you are done.
have fun!
🙂
I love it~great work.
8th on my visit through Thursday Poets Rally week 38 and I am impressed..
Yeah, you expressed well and perfectly on how one feels to, during and after a write.. 🙂 I like the last para best.. 😉
Oh yes, here is mine, http://www.tingtasy.com/2011/02/collections-of-tings-poetry-tpf107.html
Hope to see you soon if you have the time.. 🙂
love this.. here’s mine for week 38.. http://fiveloaf.wordpress.com/2010/09/30/i-cant-hold-it/
You must have touched the hearts of most poets with these expressive lines that fill the page 😉
Beautiful, exactly how it feels to write a poem. Well done, hope to read more rally entries of yours! 🙂
Mike, I thought you didn’t now how to write a sonnet! OK, so it’s 16 lines, but in spirit and in style, it’s a perfect sonnet. Waves of admiration are winging their way to you.
Thank you, Viv. You are very kind. Funny how it came about. Needed something original for the rally and my mind decided not to work yesterday. Kept looking at that blank screen . . . .
A sleepless night, the price we pay,
For something more than any wage.
Ah, totally relatable .. many hours of sleep has been lost in pursue of a thought .. But if it comes out good, its all worthy it !! Most impressive lines Mike !
beautiful and artistic… I can so much identify with your words. Awesome entry! 🙂
this is beautiful mike. what a perfect portrayal of poetry and the relationship between a poet and his readers.
Beautifully written, I loved the line “A sleepless night, the price we pay,” As it fits me like a glove. Insomnia seems to be the curse and cause of many a poet. Your use of punctuation to emphesise is also outstanding. I hope you’ll be a regular at the rally and I look forward to reading more of your work.
The Lonely Recluse.
Thank you for your kind remarks. I hope to be better prepared in the future.
Preperation seems not to be necessary if this is you unprepared.
The Lonely Recluse.
Glad to have you in the rally! This was such a precious little poem. I couldn’t agree more with you about how blank pages often look so scary! It’s true though, that once we start writing, it all seems to dissipate eventually. Thanks for sharing 🙂
How true.. Mike… its lovely…
Enjoyed your lines…
‘A poet’s muse demands the time
Before the empty, yearning page.’
Thanks
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com/2011/01/whispers-wanderer.html
Twitter @VerseEveryDay
Wow! Excellent entry into Poets Rally! Hope to see more of your work!
You’ve captured the writer’s plight so well. This was an awesome poem to read.
Very good first submission to Rally!
I can now “complete the call” with and absolutely “heart-felt praise” and you “can rest the quill” …
your page was full of good feel.
Thanks for visiting me!
loved it . seemingly effortless write but so apt and true of the process of creating with words.
A great ode to the tenacity of the muse – fantastic write!
awesome and so truueee..
but sometimes the blank page is indeed a threat.. more than a threat it seems to mock me wen im in a writers block 😦
thanks for visitng my friend 🙂
here here….and AMEN to that! Lovely lovely. xoxo
Thanks for commenting on mine 🙂
I love the finishing stanza. For poetry, as much of a release as it is to write, is not complete until readers experience the words which gives us so much consternation, release and meaning. I loved this Mike!
Congratulations for Jingle’s The Perfect Poet Award of week 38. Well done! I am honored sharing with you ~becca~
Thank you Becca. Your award is well deserved. I love your writing. I also am honored, and more than a little humbled. The only explanation I can come up with is the judges must have been drunk by the time they got to me. Wine and poetry go great together.
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A perfect way to fill a plain white page – taking us from thought to quill to ink to page to reader. Thank you.
Greetings:
Hope all is well.
Noting that you have been part of poets rally in the year of 2011,
what an achievement, thanks for your outstanding contribution to us
along the way, keep up the excellence. Best!
Come join our poetry rally today if you wish to mingle and get inspired!
A poem of your choice or a free verse is accepted.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Looking forward to seeing you share.
Respect and hugs.
xoxox
Nice poem. Simple and bold 🙂