Building It

Writing is like building a wall. …The wall-builder erects her wall one rock at a time until she reaches the far end of the field. If she doesn’t build it it won’t be there. So she looks down at her pile of rocks, picks the one that looks like it will best suit her purpose, and puts it in. ~ Neil Gaiman, National Novel Writing Month Pep Talk, retrieved July 14, 2014 from http://nanowrimo.org/pep-talks/neil-gaiman

Here’s to remembering what we need is walls
and more than walls. Humming, go to work,
build this sweet surprise, sweaty satisfaction of story
where there were only tumbled rocks in a field.
But don’t forget the thrill of windows,
view made more beautiful because
it frames friends leaning on the sill.
Don’t forget the necessary doors
where we practice leaving and arriving
both of us mastering these intricate steps,
together, alone, together, repeat and repeat,
if we are very lucky,
for our whole long lives.