Day 13 - Architect
Pen Play: A poem-a-day writer's retreat in June
Welcome, everyone! You’re at Day 13, now well more than half through with our mighty quest. That’s amazing - give yourself a big pat on the back for that!
I love building things. I love creating, and I love creativity. The messy, chaotic, unfettered qualities of art are so seductive and their allure has always been so strong. I love the flirtation of inspiration.Â
Along the way of creation, however, we also have clarity, and vision. We still need a framework, a structure to shape the raw materials, a definitive practicality that makes decisions and plans out the designs and sets up the process to be in optimized working order.
I tend more towards the dreamy, airy side, but I recognize a strong quality of architect within me as well, one who maps and molds and has the foresight needed to make all my dreams come true.Â
I think many of us recognize this quality in ourselves as well - or at least recognize a need for it - but I feel it nonetheless spends less time highlighted in conversations about creation than it should. Besides, not only is it essential, but it also has its own pleasures.
I dedicate today’s prompt to this architect, the ally of our sacred art, the agent of our maverick rouge, the one who keeps us together long enough to make our magic.Â
What is one project, dream, or area of your life where you can and/or want to invite more of your architect in?Â
I hope you have a beautiful day building ahead <3 Much love.
Architect
What a joy to stand here,
Proud upon the mountain,
Looking down upon my creations
Like an eagle over her nest.
Even as I am the one who brought them,
I marvel in the splendor,
The longevity of their might,
The vastness of their impact,
The stability of their existence.
Mountains upon mountains upon mountains,
I gaze into a lifetime,
The distance hazy in the high altitude air
Contrasted against the peaks below my feet,
Clearer than some others,
And yet all that my eyes touch
Remains my kingdom.
But, it’s more than just mountains here.
If you look closer, you would see that
I am the architect,
The snow leopard,
The one who designed these airborne heights.
You would see the impact
Of every crack,
Every slope,
Every crevasse,
Every avalanche,
Every boulder that falls and breaks,
That they’re timed with
The perfection of life in working order,
My domain to create
Just as I am created.
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Lay out the plans once more, my love, once more,
I swear it’s not true yet that all is lost.
Let’s spread our diagrams across the floor
Like children who don’t know what their games cost.
This map, the cityscape that once was ours,
Is pockmarked, and though I won’t assign blame,
I drew an X for each one of our failures,
Now I can hardly read a single name.
I have the plans for castles we would build,
The diagrams we drew at night together,
We were so young, so certain in our will,
The castle burned, but planning is forever.
Let’s still pretend it’s not over, one last
Time, my love, once more, lay out the plans.
MVP?
it's that nerdy little guy in the suit,
down there at the end of the bench.
12 seconds left & down by 3,
Watch him jump into action.
Arms flailing
words pleading
chalk dust flying,
the comeback architect draws up
more winning magic.
Then sits back down.
Game over.