An Idea Leaves (A Poem)

For many of us we have good intentions of writing as prolifically as possible, but what happens when our minds go blank and no ideas come? Or, even worse, when we have an awesome idea but just can’t come up with an angle we can relate to? It is this dilemma that inspired the following poem. As I sat looking out of the window at the wind blowing leaves from the trees, these words come to me:

Thoughts are swirling around my head
As leaves falling from the trees
Which one do I attempt to grasp,
As they descend upon the ground?

There they lie to await their fate
As their colors fade into the earth
Some will live captured in their peak
As they are pressed into memory.

Most will disappear into distant thought
As they wither into earthy compost.
To be filed along with all the others
As earth accepts its crumpled rot.

Those contemplations seem to be lost
As the earth hides beneath the frost
There to remain locked in the tombs
As winter sets in with full control.

Deep within all those forgotten ideas
As life springs forth from below
Those treasures are transformed into beauty
As new buds emerge as leaves again.

This cycle can be frustrating unless we accept it as part of the process of writing. Perhaps it just isn’t the right time for that idea to shine and by waiting it will have a chance to blossom into its full potential. A particular good thought may come and be used right away or it may be stored away as useless trivia—it is not for naught. On the day when it resurfaces we may be left to wonder, “Where did that inspiration come from? ” Never underestimate an unused thought or idea; it may be just what is needed in the future.