The Life of a Writer
by Jalynn Harris

The life of a writer is desire
i hammer into the page
i make up my mind: the street light

is not the moon, but anything can be
made beautiful under the ease
of my hammer

with you could see that i write in blue ink
the color of oceans & early mornings
& everything is clear like

tears rushing toward the dim
of my desire. i pen what i am meant
to pen. how deep in love i am

& how silly of me to spend all morning dreaming
about love & not expect my
desire to set me free

the knives of my fingers tap
out the notion that if I turn the key
it will unlock.

admittedly, I am foolish
about love–a simple yes exites me–
’cause i know that all that i require will be met

like water meets the tongue. it’s scary
desire, a small fan of my window in the summer,
a booklight lighting the page of my life.

Jalynn Harrison is the founder of Softsavage Press. She is
a poet, educator, and book designer from Baltimore,
Maryland.