W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm
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Like a disappearing fish
or a bird in full flight -
the muse,
in an element of her own
is jealous of freedom.
She circles close, insistent,
just below the surface -
but, when you reach out to catch hold
without a backward glance she’s gone!
Only on rare occasions
if you woo her assiduously;
-
right kind of pen, paper she approves of -
a chair which allows one to forget
the intrusive flesh.
If the light is right
and the time
then, slender as a mosquito
and as easily brushed aside
she’ll flirt nearer to inject
the catalyst sting
Which may find pathway
to the tip
of the waiting pen.
- Margaret Gough
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