Mud and the Blanket

My books are available on Amazon.

Head pounding,
thinking too much.
The world says�"
artists are supposed to suffer.
Well, guess what?
I’m not a fan of pain.
I’ve had enough.

A nursery rhyme on a leash,
performing tricks for applause.

No blood, no sweat,
no screaming into the dark,
just presto�"change-o�"
a poem appears like magic.

Steinbeck would spit
and wipe the dust from his face.
Hemingway would snarl
and throw a left jab.
Easy?
They’d say: get in the mud,
get your hands filthy,
wrestle it out,
inch by inch, bite by bite.

Some poems come easy.
Most don’t.
I feel them in my teeth,
taste the grit of lines not yet formed,
bruise my knuckles on stubborn words.

F**k it.
Nap time.
Where’s my soft blanket?
Warmth, comfort, surrender.
Headache easing,
muscles slack,
eyes heavy.

And maybe that’s the point.
Art bleeds.
Life seduces like a soft pillow.
The poem waits,
patient in the mud,
waiting for hands willing to dig.

Damn it, it’s no use.
I stare at the maple desk,
my stacks of notebooks,
the computer screen.
I get up, walk over.
Giving birth
will never be
the life of a debutante.

Author's Note

If this poem spoke to you, there's a longer spoken-word reading with a jazz backdrop on my YouTube channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?vxSb3oMjGoHQ

You can find my poetry books on Amazon Its Just a Hop, Skip, and Jump to the Madhouse, Seedy Town Blues, and more right here:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Thomas-W.-Case/author/B0CL2RKDGX

Thanks for reading, listening, and walking the miles with me.

Thomas W. Case

Reviews

[Michael Sun Bear]

Good morning Thomas. Your two lines “a nursery rhyme on a leash, performing tricks for applause” is terrific. I love your references to Steinbeck and Hemingway, and I just realized that is something I value in many of your poems. You make reference to past writers, create a feeling of continuity with the great writing that went before us. I have a similar desk complete with stacks of notebooks, but keeping my iPad constantly with me, I write almost entirely in my easy chair, in bed, or down in our cafe. My desk seems more of a storage depot.anyhow, I really enjoyed the poem.

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, my friend. I appreciate it.

[Sakura]

What a beautiful poem! Your writing style is truly captivating, and I think it would translate wonderfully into a comic. I have a few ideas that could make it even more engaging, and I’d love to discuss them with you either on Discord or via email at [e-mail] @sakura_vibes01.

I’m a paid artist. Please note that I only communicate with people who are 18 years or older.

[John the Baptist]

Indeed, Thomas, the poem does wait in the mud. I'm dealing with one now that is beneath the mud.

[Thomas W Case]

Thank you, my friend. Keep digging.