Why Do I Write?

By Synthia Robinson-Pack

Why do I write?

Is it to achieve fame and fortune,

To become the envy of others?

To place myself amongst Shakespeare, Thoreau and Maya Angelou?

No, that would be greed.

Is it to be an artiste,

And utilize my creativity as only I can do?

To become a Raphael, Michaelangelo or Mozart?

No, that would be presumptuous.

Do I write so that I may see my words

Put down into perpetuity

For others to read when I am gone?

No, that would be only a paper immortality.

I write for reasons deeper and much more selfish.

I write because I am compelled by a need

To express what I see and hear within myself.

Snapshots, little vignettes that have to be expressed.

It is a strong innate drive that propels me,

Thrusts me outside of myself

And onto others.

I write because I understand how small I am

In this intense universe that is being formed

By a God so vast and simple

That I must praise Him with my words

That flow from my heart.

I write because I have to cleanse myself

Of these incredible thoughts

That form themselves within me.

It is my joy.

It is my sorrow.

It is my pain.

Writing is my medicine.

I write because I see things differently

Than others do.

I see things in beautiful colors

And in muted, mournful tones.

But pen them in black and white.

I write because it is my world.

A world that frees and liberates me

Yet shackles me with thoughts

And ideas that come and go

In the middle of the night

Throughout the day

They flow past.

I only reach out and catch them.

Holding them briefly

To write them down

So that others may see

What I am.

This is because I am a writer.

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