The Ghosts of Past and Future

The lyf so short, the craft so longe to lerne – Chaucer

I sat curled on the couch with my second-hand copy of Roberts’ How Poetry Works (Penguin, 1991) and I happened to flip back to the title page and see Chaucer’s words there. And, for a second, I was connected to a man long dead.

The life, so short. I couldn’t agree more. All of a sudden it's January, and I’m setting goals for the year right now. I’m once again deciding to take myself seriously on a whole new level, as I’ve done every year up till now. (I generally avoid taking much of anything seriously, so there's a yearly renewal on this one.)

It is poetry season. February 28th is the deadline for Utmost Christian Writers’ poetry contest, and I set myself a goal a couple of years ago of making a showing every year. I’ve squeaked by, but just barely. I need more education, more practice, more understanding. I’d like it sooner rather than later, but I have human limitations. The craft, so long to learn.

Goal-time is a short season of impatience soon to be buried in an avalanche of second-guesses. Should I be taking the time to do this? I have a raft of self-education, of writing, of reaching out for opportunities to hear and to speak up. And yet, communication is so satisfying when one receives communication in return. I’m not sure I could go back to a life of not trying to communicate with the world.

Am I doing it the right way? My unique situation as a stay-at-home, homeschooling parent means I don’t have the freedom to throw myself blindly on the established methods of clawing one’s way up the literary tree. I'm so small, and a little lost. I’m a snowflake, not a raging blizzard.

Yes, that’s right. I’m a flake. There’s not much to be done about it. No matter where this takes me, I’ll keep loving books and writing. I’ll keep loving story. I'll stay here in my obscurity – until it suddenly vanishes – and dream while I read the words of other souls long gone and far away.

Through print, time may be stopped – Philip Davies Roberts