A Poem for the National Day on Writing

Today is the National Day on Writing and you can read more about it HERE. Thinking about “What I write” – which is this year’s theme – inspired a poem looking at what, and why, I write.

Last year I attended a conference,

Over and over the same question was repeated –

What are you writing?

They must have the wrong person.

I am not a writer.
What would I say?

But the seed was there.

Gnawing away at my inside.

Waiting to be acknowledged.

I came home, inspired.
By friends, teachers, authors.

Could I do it?

I stepped out.

Dipped a toe in.

Created a blog.

You all were there.

Left comments, tweets, messages.

Encouraged.

I kept writing.

Here and in journals.

Ideas filling up my head.

What I write changed

From emails, text, FB messages.

Grocery lists, plans, Goodreads posts.

To blogs, articles, the first pages of a book.

I write to be heard.

I write to inspire.

I write because the words burst forth,

Demanding to come out.

They will not be silent any more.