The Creative Act of Writing
by Manuel A. Luna-Murray
The unspoken bond between a man and his pen
is one of sublime mystery
as the mind sends a message
to the hand which relays its wishes
to the pen that obeys its orders by subjecting
the paper to the ink of creation
Begging the question —
Which of these is the master
and which is the slave?
Is the parasitic idea
invading the mind the true
author of the final masterpiece?
Or is it perhaps the mind housing the idea
which gives final form and meaning to
the invisible abstraction seeking refuge
from the cold of rejection?
Maybe it is the fleshly hand
that has the final say in transcribing
the message into physical overtures
capable of dislodging us from our quiet revere
of ordinary struggles and erstwhile dreams
Or perhaps the real culprit of this intrigue
is the mighty pen whose masterful strokes
have born the dictates of madmen
and the brilliant fireworks of wisdom and insight
into the human condition as displayed by
activists, apologists, and writers of all times?
Perhaps it is the lowly paper
which deserves the acclaim of its predecessors
for its physical dimensions are responsible
For breathing life into the nonexistent abstraction
of jumbled memories and inflated egos
in need of a reality check
For language is never truly mastered
but only temporarily trapped and tamed
in a carbon-based prison
or a digitally-manufactured jail cell
in the form of letters and words whose symbols
reflect our dependency on inexact replicas
of our mind’s volatile search for meaning
A molecular chain reaction of spontaneous combustion
among the multifaceted members of a single entity
is the true master of the creative act of writing
Each unique member occupies an important hierarchical
position of equal prestige but different functions
in which all are masters of their domain
while being subservient to the expertise of their peers
River Words… Ocean Possibilities 