“…For the sake of a simple poem, you must see many cities, many people and Things, you must understand animals, must feel how birds fly, and know the gesture which small flowers make when they open in the morning…”   

-Rainer Maria Rilke, The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge

 

You must set aside your mind

fling the doors and windows of your heart

as wide as they will open

inviting wonder

expelling doubt.

 

You must trust

in life

in magic

in something bigger than yourself

in yourself.

 

You must regard the pen as a holy vessel

capable of carrying the wisdom

of your deepest self

onto the paper

into the world.

 

You must be gentle, humble, patient,

approaching yourself and the poem

without expectations

without judgment

with reverence.